Horner: ‘No tension’ with Verstappen but no one bigger than team

Christian Horner said he would not stand in the way of Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull if he choose to do so, but remains confident the reigning champion will stay at the team beyond the end of this year.

Despite winning the opening two rounds of the season, divisions and controversy within Red Bull have led to suggestions Verstappen, who has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, could leave the team at the end of the year.

A rift appeared within Red Bull last week after the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, cleared Horner of allegations of inappropriate behaviour brought by a female colleague.

Verstappen’s father, Jos, called for Horner to stand down following a two-month investigation, saying the team would “explode” if he remained in his position.

When asked if his relationship with Verstappen was under strain, Horner said: “It is absolutely fine with Max.

“He’s working well within the team. There’s no tension, there’s no stress you can see how relaxed he is around the garage with everybody in the team and that’s translating to his performance on track as well. So we don’t see any issues with Max.

“Obviously, I’m aware of all that noise, but it hasn’t distracted the team from the job and we are one team now obviously.”

But Horner added that, hypothetically, he would not stand in Verstappen’s way if the 26-year-old decided to leave the team before the end of his contract.

“It’s like anything in life, you can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper,” Horner said. “If somebody didn’t want to be at this team, then you know, we’re not going to force somebody against their will to be here.

“That applies whether it’s a machine operator or a designer or somebody in one of the support functions, that runs through the business.

“Being involved in a team like this involves commitment and passion. And Max has that, we’ve seen that.

“He’s been here since he was 18 years of age. And I have no doubt that his of his commitment and passion going forward. But you know, that’s pretty much the way it is. No individual is bigger than the team.

“We have a phenomenal car. We’ve got one seat open for next year. I probably got 16 drivers that are desperate to be in that car for next year.”

He added: “We have a strong relationship with Max. He’s done a wonderful job. His focus is very much on what he’s doing on track and that’s where our focus is.”

Ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it emerged that Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko had been linked to a new investigation over leaks relating to the original case.

Marko received the support of Verstappen when he revealed to Austrian TV that he could be suspended as a result of the new investigation, although the situation seemed to de-escalate when Marko met with Red Bull CEO of corporate projects Oliver Mintzlaff in the F1 paddock on Saturday.

Horner insisted he was not aware of Marko’s position being under threat until it was already in the media, but played down suggestions the 80-year-old Austrian would be forced out of his role.

“The rumours about suspension were as news to the team as it was to anybody else,” he said. “So 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’ve known Helmut since 1996. And yeah, you know, he’s played an important role over the years. That role has evolved over the years, but I’ve known him for a very, very long time and you know.

“Coming up to 81 years of age, he’s still obviously motivated about Formula One which is a positive thing.”