Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s family’s position regarding Christian Horner has reportedly shifted in recent years.
The Dutch driver brought glory back to the Austrian team in the 2021 season and has since been the dominant force in the sport that has led the team on the track. But behind the scenes, there have been internal tensions and potential conflicts between team principal Christian Horner and team advisor Helmut Marko and Horner with Max’s father Jos Verstappen.
As reported by Motorsport-Total, the relationship between Horner and Verstappen Sr. has been badly damaged which could be a probable reason behind the former F1 driver’s limited presence in the sport in the past few years.
The internal investigation for Horner’s alleged ‘inappropriate behavior’ towards a member of staff has further widened the gap between parties with Max Verstappen’s family positioning themselves against the Briton.
Although, neither Christian Horner nor Jos Verstappen have made any public remarks on the alleged feud reported by the aforementioned source yet. It is to be seen if the results of the internal investigations will change the dynamic between the parties involved.
Red Bull launches internal investigation against Christian Horner
The news of Christian Horner’s investigation took the world of F1 by shock earlier in the week. The energy drink brand further in their statement confirmed the events and claimed that they had already begun conducting an internal investigation.
In their statement, Red Bull said:
“After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation,” Red Bull said in a statement on Monday. “This process, which is already underway, is being carried out by an external specialist barrister.”The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Whilst Horner completely ‘denied’ the allegations and his role in the matter. On Friday, February 9, the team boss will be questioned by an external investigator on the committee about the event.
If Red Bull had to let their current team principal go after the investigation, its team manager and the current sports director Johnathan Wheatley would be the potential replacement.
It is still unclear if Christian Horner will be front and center when the team launches its 2024 challenger on February 15th next week or for the first time since its inception in 2005, the team will go ahead on a global stage without the Briton.
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