Max Verstappen has made clear his frustration with the ongoing Christian Horner saga, insisting he would ‘rather not have these stories’ affecting him as he goes about his business, race weekend to race weekend.
Horner was placed under an internal investigation in early February after allegations of misconduct from a female employee. The 50-year-old was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but an appeal from the Red Bull team member in question means that the saga continues to drag on in the background.
Simultaneously, the team principal is wrapped up in an internal power struggle. Following the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, Horner is keen to gain more power over both the Red Bull team, and the sister VCARB outfit. He has the backing of the energy drinks company’s Thai contingent, but not Helmut Marko and the Austrian portion of the organisation.
“I would rather not have these stories, these things going on within the team,” Verstappen told The Guardian ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. “We just have to deal with it and move on from it.
“I am contracted to the team to do my job, that’s performance, that’s what I am focused on. I am not a politician, I am not someone who likes to be political. I just focus on the performance with the people around me, try to distract myself from, let’s say, the negative.”
At the height of the tensions earlier this year, Horner faced public opposition from Verstappen’s father, Jos. The former F1 racer spoke to the Daily Mail after the season opener in Bahrain, stating: “There is tension here while he remains in position.
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
Despite these tensions, Verstappen Jnr insists that there is no real animosity between his father and the Red Bull team principal. “They are not in conflict,” he explained. “People can have different opinions but that’s a different story.”
The Horner saga dominated the headlines throughout the opening stages of the year and while tensions between the 50-year-old and Verstappen’s father have cooled, he faces another challenge to the harmony within his team following the announcement of Adrian Newey’s departure.
