It wasn’t too longer ago that the author wrote about a suspected power struggle within the Red Bull team. But back in October 2023 the team denied any and all rumours of an attempted power grab behind the scenes of the championship winning team.
As the saying goes – where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And it’s hardly ever more applicable than when it comes to the sport of Formula 1. Fast forward a few months from the ‘vehement’ denial of a rift in the team and Red Bull find themselves nearly buried under the headlines of a team deeply divided.
If the stories are to be believed the tale goes like this. Team principal Christian Horner, after the passing of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, made an attempt to become part owner of the team himself. It didn’t pan out the way he’d hoped and it seems to have riled some within the team. If Horner was successful in his bid it is believed that he would’ve cut Dr. Helmut Marko out of the team. This little bit of information didn’t go down all too well.
A few months later Dutch media reports allegations against Horner by a female employee. Red Bull launch an investigation and determine no wrongdoing on Horner’s part. Next, a dossier of ‘evidence’ is emailed to nearly 150 F1 team members, the FIA, and journalists.
The ‘evidence’ is not verifiable and the content itself is rather meek. The reveal of said ‘evidence’ doesn’t quite have the impact the leaker expects it too. Suddenly, Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen’s father, is quoted in the media declaring that Horner must leave the team or else it will ‘explode’. Verstappen’s statement reveal a few things. One, he is quite possibly behind the leak of the ‘evidence’ and if feeding stories and information to the Dutch media. Do remember that Dutch media were the first to break the Horner investigation story.
Jos makes no secret of his discussions with Toto Wolff. In fact, he does so in full view of the paddock, fuelling the threat that Max would leave the team if Horner stays. It’s quite the dilemma for Max given that his father seems to behind much of Red Bull’s internal strife; and that as a non-member of the team.
There’s no telling what Max makes of his father’s behaviour but given Jos’s well documented harsh upbringing of his son, and his disturbing past, Max might not, publicly, have any comment at all. But as Jos has been ‘disinvited’ from this weekend’s Saudi grand prix you can bet your bottom dollar Max will be asked about the goings on at Red Bull and his father’s role in it.
