Max Verstappen to meet Red Bull owner after dad calls for Christian Horner solution

The F1 star has stopped short of giving his full public backing to his Red Bull team principle

You could be forgiven for forgetting that Red Bull had a perfect weekend on track at the season-opening grand prix in Bahrain.

A Max Verstappen victory, a Red Bull one-two, pole position and fastest lap to lay down a marker for their rivals that they already look nigh-on invincible.

And yet Christian Horner still dominates the paddock conversation from the investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague to the Google Drive awash with leaked WhatsApp messages.

Team principal Horner has been vindicated from any wrongdoing by an external lawyer and has been given backing by the Red Bull board to remain in post.

He may well be sleeping in the spare room of the Hampstead home he shares with his wife Geri in the fall-out from it all despite the couple putting on an united front in the wake of those leaked messages.

Christian and Geri Horner at Bahrain Grand Prix
Christian Horner and wife Geri Halliwell with a show of solidarity in Bahrain
David Davies/PA Wire

With just five days until race two of a marathon 24-grand prix season, there is barely time for the F1 paddock to catch its breath from a weekend that has seemed more soap opera than the cutting edge of motorsport.

But what next for Red Bull? Clearly, there are warring factions at play behind the scenes. Does that now peter out or is there more explosivity to come? No one knows for sure.

The major issue is the now broken relationship between Horner and Jos Verstappen, the influential father of Max. The stakes were raised post-race when Verstappen Sr told the Daily Mail: “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 [Horner] is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems.”

The 26-year-old world champion finds himself between a rock and a hard place in this particular battle.

He is scheduled to meet Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya in Dubai today, the agenda for that meeting likely to be less a pat on the back for a faultless drive in Bahrain and more about the future.

The team is in danger of being torn apart ... [Horner] is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems.

Jos Verstappen

What the outcome of that is remains unclear but it is already rumoured that Verstappen Sr, originally scheduled to be in Jeddah this week for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, will now opt to stay away instead.

He holds great sway over his son, the underlying threat perhaps that the best driver of his generation could walk away from Red Bull if he sees fit.

But Verstappen Jr is no idiot. He is streets ahead of the chasing pack — his team-mate Sergio Perez included — and there are few indications that is about to change any time soon.

Rival drivers have already declared the two championships a done deal such is his hegemony and, with no major regulation changes until the planned overhaul in 2026, it is a safe bet to assume Verstappen could be on five world titles before too long.

Primarily, he is a born racer, the son of two racers and crafted by his dad to be a winning machine. If it comes to taking sides, he will surely go with the option that gives him the best bet of victory.

Max Verstappen has stopped before giving his full backing to the Red Bull boss
Getty Images

For all talk of a vacancy at Mercedes and a supposed dinner between Verstappen Sr and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff over the weekend, the world champion is going nowhere for the foreseeable future.

Verstappen Sr denies he is the person behind the leaks, saying: “Why would I do that when Max is doing so well here?”

It’s a fair point but then what is the reason for this massive fissure between him and Horner, which blew up in a testy exchange at the team’s hospitality suite in Bahrain. At Red Bull, there is head scratching to explain the origins of this spat.

So what next? Horner has effectively been told his job is safe, his marriage is apparently too, judging by the public affection in Bahrain. Behind closed doors, he also has the backing of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of F1 governing body the FIA.

Unless there are further revelations to follow, Horner is hopeful it can be the “business as usual” line he has talked about from the outset.

The team’s public line is that there are no issues, they are united and focused simply on racing. That slightly papers over the cracks of a particularly fraught relationship at the helm of this organisation.

But to suggest the wheels have completely fallen off the Red Bull racing machine are wide of the mark. The results from last weekend say as much, the prediction in Jeddah being a likely second straight one-two for the team come the chequered flag.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in