Formula 1: Verstappen’s father attacks Horner – “It will explode”

Formula 1 “It will explode”

Sex affair at Red Bull – Verstappen’s father attacks Horner

As of: 11:26 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes

Christian Horner was accompanied in Bahrain by his wife Geri Halliwell despite the sex allegations. The theme determined the opening weekend of Formula 1

Those: AP/Darko Bandic

The situation at Red Bull could escalate further. The father of world champion Verstappen sees the racing team facing an “explosion” if Christian Horner stays. The Dutchman publicly calls out the team boss.

Max Verstappen’s father Jos has further fueled the spicy affair surrounding Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner. The 51-year-old former Formula 1 driver told the Daily Mail: “He plays the victim while he is the one causing the problems.”

Verstappen Senior continued: “The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can not go on like this. It will explode.” Such statements could be the next escalation level in a power struggle in the world champion team that has been raging for a long time.

The two fronts: Here is the 50-year-old Briton Horner, who has led the team based in Milton Keynes, England, since Red Bull entered Formula 1 and led to seven drivers’ and six constructors’ titles. His most important advocate: the Thai majority owner of Red Bull, Chalerm Yoovidhya, who was also at the race in Bahrain on Saturday.

Geri Halliwell in conversation with Jos Verstappen at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Quelle: Getty Images/Mark Thompson

On the other hand, the 80-year-old Austrian Helmut Marko, who has also been there since joining and was a close confidant of the Austrian Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in October 2022. Max Verstappen and his father Jos are quite close to Marko.

Serious allegations against Horner

Even before his commanding start-to-finish victory on Saturday at the season opener in Bahrain, Max Verstappen had emphasized that the Horner matter was not a burden on him. The team boss was accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee. After an external investigation, the parent company Red Bull dismissed the complaint on Wednesday last week.

also read

Around 24 hours later, anonymous emails were sent with a link to files with intimate messages and photos about the Horner matter. These also went to the other nine team bosses, the heads of Formula 1 and the world association as well as Jos Verstappen.

Horner has always denied the allegations. He himself firmly expects to remain as team boss. “Absolutely, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” said the 50-year-old Brit in the Bahrain paddock. The season in Saudi Arabia will continue next week. “My focus is on the team, my family and the races,” emphasized the husband of ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who has been in the public eye for weeks: “Of course it wasn’t pleasant, this unwanted attention.” He will cannot comment on what motives the person who did this might have. It is still unclear who sent the emails and whether the content is genuine.

Mercedes doesn’t want to get involved, but it does

The International Automobile Federation will not take part in the investigation, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem told the Financial Times. After a conversation with Horner, the 62-year-old from Dubai also explained: “It’s damaging the sport. It’s damaging on a human level.” The FIA ​​boss added that it was important to “protect the sport from all this” and pointed to the importance of the season opener in Bahrain and the popularity of Formula 1.

The competitor Mercedes doesn’t want to get involved either, but subliminally it does. Team boss Toto Wolf said: “The moment I continue to question how the matter was handled, I’m probably doing the whole thing a disservice, because then it could look like it’s just about a power struggle within Formula 1 . We’ll see how things go in the next few days. I very much hope that the umbrella organization and the commercial rights holders set the right course.”