Max Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, has admitted that there is a ‘certain power struggle’ going on behind the scenes at Red Bull. Team principal Christian Horner continues to hold onto control of the organisation, despite opposition from some corners of the Austrian constructor.
While the ongoing speculation about Horner’s future has been a catalyst for increased tensions, the ‘power struggle’ at the team is not fresh news. Murmurs of discontent between the 50-year-old and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko were a regular topic of conversation throughout the 2023 season.
There is also known tension between Horner and Jos. The father of Red Bull’s star driver publicly called for the team principal to leave his post in Bahrain, revealing that there had been a ‘blazing row’ between the pair in the paddock.
According to a report from Auto Motor und Sport, aerodynamics guru Adrian Newey is also unimpressed with Horner, and if the futures of the most coveted engineer in F1, and Verstappen’s close ally Marko continue to be jeopardised then it is possible that the three-time world champion could depart the team.
Speaking to Sporza about the ongoing drama, Jos explained: “It’s definitely hard for the outside world to follow. I think it is a necessity for them to get calm within the team, but given the circumstances, I think it will continue for a while. I’m curious, but it doesn’t help the whole process.”
He later added: “There is definitely a certain power struggle going on. We’ll see, I can’t say too much about it. I hope peace returns soon and they start concentrating on racing because that’s what it’s all about. But this is not good.”
The ongoing drama has placed Verstappen’s entourage in a difficult position. While there is clear unrest behind the scenes, the RB20 is comfortably the fastest car in the field, and the reigning world champion is unlikely to fancy an immediate move elsewhere that would drop him out of title contention.
“I don’t know what to do,” Jos added. “The most important thing for us is that Max keeps winning and he is doing that. The car is very good and between the engineers and Max, there is nothing going on, so that is also good.
“Max knows how to get that part out too, but he gets a lot of questions about what’s going on and he doesn’t like that. But that’s also part of it, the other side of Formula One.”
