'Max Verstappen victorious again but Red Bull power struggle continues and questions remain'
- Published
Christian Horner congratulates Max Verstappen for winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen cruised to the latest in a long line of composed and imperious victories at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday. Behind the scenes at Red Bull, though, things are anything but serene.
Verstappen's run of wins looks to have no obvious end - this was the ninth in a row, dating back to last year's Japanese Grand Prix, and his 29th out of the past 34 races since mid-2022.
But it took place against the backdrop of the continuing controversy following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against team principal Christian Horner by a female employee, which the 50-year-old denies.
The latest development is evidence of a power struggle at Red Bull - some have said it's between Horner and their motorsport adviser Helmut Marko; and others say it's between the Thai majority shareholders and Austrian minority shareholders - into which Verstappen and his father Jos have now been drawn.
For 24 hours this weekend, Marko was in danger of being suspended by Red Bull. In the end, it seems to have taken an intervention from Verstappen to keep him in his position.
This revelation about Marko came a day after the female employee who reported Horner's behaviour to Red Bull's human resources department was herself suspended.
Red Bull has always been a secretive organisation that tightly controlled the flow of information to the outside world. That applies to the parent company Red Bull GmbH in Fuchsl Am See in Austria as much as it does to the Red Bull Racing F1 team.
Giving an insight into what happens inside the two companies is anathema.
As this off-track drama played out this weekend, some F1 insiders claimed that Horner, having won the backing of the Thai owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, was trying to dispense with all his rivals, to secure not only his own survival within Red Bull, but his position as the unchallenged authority in the team, and perhaps beyond.
Horner said: "The rumours about suspension were news to the team as to anybody else. We were quite surprised to hear that.
"Helmut is a contractor to Red Bull GmbH so it was an issue between them and we weren't part of that discussion. I have known Helmut since 1996 and he has played an important role over the years. Coming up to 81 years of age, he is still motivated about F1, which is a positive thing."
And he insisted: "My relationship with Helmut is no issue. He is always outspoken but that's Helmut. I am not quite sure where the rumours permeated from. It is not something I have been involved in."
Verstappen's key intervention
Helmut Marko (left) is the head of Red Bull's driver development programme
Whoever was challenging Marko's position, it is a high-risk game, for Verstappen is close to the former F1 driver.
After qualifying, Verstappen was asked what he thought about the threats to Marko.
A week before, he had been asked whether Horner had his full support as Red Bull team principal. Verstappen's carefully worded answer used equivocal language.
In contrast, he left no one in any doubt about his feelings regarding Marko.
"It's very important that he stays within the team," Verstappen said. "If such an important pillar falls away, that's not good for my situation as well. So, for me, Helmut has to stay, for sure."
In other words, get rid of Marko, and Verstappen could walk, too, notwithstanding his contract, which lasts until 2028.
Mercedes, who have a vacant seat next year following Lewis Hamilton's decision to move to Ferrari in 2025, are waiting with open arms.
As Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff put it: "This is a decision Max needs to take and there is no team up and down the grid who wouldn't do handstands to have him in the car."
Again, Horner played down any sense of conflict.
"It is absolutely fine with Max," he said. "He's working well within the team. There is no tension, no stress. You can see how relaxed he is around the garage with everybody in the team. That's translating to his performance on track as well. So we don't see any issues with Max."
After the race, Verstappen was asked again about Marko and his own position within Red Bull. He said: "I always said that what is most important is that we work together as a team and that everyone keeps the peace. And that's what we, I think, all agree on within the team. So hopefully from now on, that is also fully the case.
"Everyone is trying to focus in the same direction. And the positive out of all this is that it didn't hurt our performances."
Horner controversy won't die
Oliver Mintzlaff (right) is the Red Bull chief executive officer
This is the second time there has been a power struggle between Horner and Marko in less than a year. Marko won the last one - securing a new contract with Red Bull. Now, after a meeting with Red Bull chief executive officer Oliver Mintzlaff, he has survived again. But only after Verstappen made his feelings very clear.
On Thursday, Horner appeared in an official news conference in Jeddah and said he believed it was time to "draw a line" under the controversy surrounding his behaviour.
"The reality," he said, "is that there was a grievance raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group, that appointed an independent KC, one of the most reputable in the land.
"He took time to investigate all the facts. He looked at everything, and he came to a conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.
"As far as I'm concerned, as far as Red Bull is concerned, we move on."
Not everyone agrees, though. Honda, Red Bull's current engine partner, has asked for full clarity on the allegations. So, before the complaint against Horner was dismissed, had Ford, which is joining forces with the team in 2026. The US car giant has yet to comment since.
And if you needed any further evidence as to how much this story has cut through, the leader of the opposition in the UK parliament has also backed the idea of transparency from Red Bull.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, a KC himself as well as a former director of public prosecutions, said: "I obviously don't know the details of precisely what's happened. So I'm not in a position to make comment on the specifics in this Red Bull case. They need to sort it out.
"But the general proposition of transparency, the general proposition of when allegations are made, they should be taken seriously,, external I absolutely adhere to."
Questions still outstanding about Horner allegations
Christian Horner has continued to face questions about rifts in Red Bull
Red Bull's statement announcing its decision said: "The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed."
But what it did not say was why. And for many outside Red Bull, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, which they are refusing to answer.
Who was the KC employed to compile the report? Who paid them? What did the report say? What was its scope? Did it make recommendations? How much attention did the board pay to it when they made the decision to dismiss the complaint?
Post hoc ergo propter hoc, external is an informal fallacy that states that because an event followed another, it was caused by it. Correlation appears to suggest causality, but sometimes it's not the case.
In the Horner situation, the complaint was dismissed after the board received the KC's report. But that is not necessarily the same as the report being crucial in that decision.
These questions only intensified when a cache of messages purporting to involve Horner were leaked to the media and senior F1 personnel the day after Red Bull dismissed the complaint.
A week on from that, in the wake of the news about Marko, Verstappen's father Jos has made another intervention.
In Bahrain, he had said he believed the Horner controversy was "driving people apart" and that the team would "explode" if their principal stayed in situ.
Questioned by the Daily Mail at a rally in which he was competing in Belgium on Friday, Jos Verstappen said: "I sympathise with the woman, with all that she went through, but we will see what happens."
As for drawing a line under the controversy, he said: "If that's what (Horner) wants, fine, but I don't think it will be possible. It's too late for Christian to say: 'Leave me alone'. But he has the support of the Thai owner, so I think he will stay for the rest of the season.
"I said it would bad if he stayed. It really isn't good for the team, this whole situation.
"But the most important thing for me is that Max is happy. That's what counts for me. I just want him to be happy."
Yoovidhya, BBC Sport has learned, met with Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen in Dubai between the Bahrain and Saudi races, and made it clear that Horner was staying, whether the Verstappen camp liked it or not.
Meanwhile, the word in Austrian circles is that this is much bigger than an internal power play at Red Bull Racing between Horner and Marko.
There, it is believed that this is about a struggle between Thailand and Austria for control of Red Bull, with Horner and Marko merely pieces in the chess game. If so, Yoovidhya appears to be winning.
Amid all this, there is an obvious elephant in the room. The woman who made the allegations against Horner has remained silent so far. How long will that continue? If she speaks out, or takes legal action following her suspension, or both, what effect will that have on Red Bull, and on F1 as a sport?
Governing body the FIA and commercial rights holder F1 have said little publicly about the Horner saga - to the exasperation of many senior figures within the sport. That stance is unlikely to be sustainable in the event the woman speaks out.
Given the superiority of Red Bull's car with Verstappen behind the wheel, all this is unlikely to derail a championship campaign.
But, in time, it is the sort of thing that can destroy an F1 team.
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