Red Bull insist Christian Horner’s position is safe, despite reports emerging at the weekend that he was set to be axed before the Australian Grand Prix.
German website F1-Insider.com claimed that Red Bull majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya had decided to remove team principal Horner from his role prior to Melbourne in two weekends’ time.
But Red Bull are adamant that Horner’s position is secure in the wake of an internal investigation and subsequent leaked WhatsApp messages concerning allegations made by a female colleague. A team spokesperson said: “As Christian has said, he is grateful for the full support of the shareholders, and that remains the case.”
Yoovidhya has backed Horner throughout, sending him a message of support before the investigation had reached its conclusion in his favour and being photographed close by his side at the Bahrain opener. But the saga is being seen as a far wider power play, and not just between the F1 team boss and the influential pairing of Jos Verstappen, the father of the team’s No1 driver Max, and motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.
A power struggle is still ongoing at the very top of the organisation between Yoovidhya and the Austrian side of the business, headed by Mark Mateschitz, son of founder Dietrich. Yoovidhya held talks with Oliver Mintzlaff, the Red Bull CEO who oversees the company’s sports operation, about how to bring an end to the ongoing fall-out and continued leaks in Dubai yesterday.
Marko revealed at the weekend that he was at risk of being suspended by the team, while Verstappen Jr has effectively threatened to leave the team if Marko is ditched. In an added twist, Jos is now expected to be in Australia, having previously not planned to travel.
Horner, meanwhile, has told his star driver he can leave Red Bull if he wants. Speaking in the wake of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in which the team sealed a second one-two, Horner said: “You can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper. If somebody didn’t want to be in this team, then we’re not going to force [them] against their will to be here.”
