Despite having been cleared of any wrongdoing in a complaint of "inappropriate behaviour" that was lodged against him, it seems as though Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is still causing some chaos in the paddock as well as inside his team's own garage. According to the latest reports, reigning world champion Max Verstappen's father is not happy about the situation at Red Bull at the moment.
Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen is not officially part of the Red Bull team, but he holds some influence due to the fact that he controls his son's career. After having won three consecutive F1 Driver's World Championship titles, Max is obviously a valuable asset to the team and no one will want to clash with him or the people in his entourage.
Back to Horner, it may be remembered that following an independent investigation, Red Bull announced last week that Horner has been cleared of the charges against him and that he would stay on as team principal this season. The announcement came on the eve of the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain. However, just hours later, an anonymous email shared what is allegedly a dossier of evidence against Horner, including incriminating WhatsApp messages between him and his accuser.
The authenticity of this alleged leak has not been verified, but it was enough to stir the pot once more despite the conclusion of the case.
While speaking to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf after the race in Bahrain, Jos said: "It cannot continue this way. The situation is not good for the team and is driving people apart."
Some reports have claimed that the email leak may have come from the Verstappen camp due to an alleged vendetta against Horner. However, Jos denied these claims stating that he would be the last person to want to cause damage to the team. He also slammed reports that have been linking his son to a move away from Red Bull.
Jos said: "Why would I do that? Max has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, is performing great and feels at home here. I have no interest in that at all."
British tabloid Daily Mail also quoted Verstappen senior talking about the damage that Horner's case is inflicting upon the team. He said: "He is playing the victim when he is the one causing problems."
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem asked Max Verstappen in Bahrain if he would publicly back Christian Horner.
— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) March 3, 2024
This news after Max's father, Jos Verstappen, suggested Red Bull would "explode" if Horner remained TP.
This is an absolute disaster. https://t.co/BN7jGysK9O
Meanwhile, multiple outlets are reporting that there was a major bust-up between Horner and Jos after the qualifying session in Bahrain on Friday. The team, however, is maintaining that they remain united in the garage and they are focused on racing.
It is also being reported that the FIA has been asking the reigning world champion to publicly back Horner. Max however, has always tried to stay away from such conversations and usually keeps his comments about racing.
Meanwhile, Red Bull rivals Mercedes and McLaren have urged the FIA to intervene instead of simply accepting the team's explanation and subsequent dismissal of Horner's case.
Red Bull have never released any concrete details about the nature of the complaint, and after a three-week long internal investigation, simply announced that Horner has been exonerated.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "I believe that with the aspirations as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport's position is. We as a sport need to assess what is right in that situation and what is wrong."
McLaren boss Zak Brown also said that the FIA should be given full access to the details of Red Bull's investigation and they should verify if they can make the same conclusion. He said: "They need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them, that they come to the same conclusion that has been given by Red Bull and that they've agreed with the outcome."
Meanwhile, despite the chaos in the garage, Red Bull dominated the opening race in Bahrain, with Verstappen taking the victory followed by his teammate Sergio Perez in second place.
Horner has also called for everyone to move on and remains confident that he will keep his post as team principal moving forward.
