Last Updated on March 11 2024, 4:48 pm

Just as it appears safe for Christian Horner to again go out in the paddock, another SHOCK revelation from the Red Bull infighting saga breaks cover. The besieged Red Bull boss has just a week before the Formula One teams arrive in Melbourne for round three of the 2024 championship.

Following veiled threats from Max Verstappen that he would leave the Red Bull Racing team if his mentor Dr. Helmut Marko is sacked, Christian Horner was forced into his own not so oblique response. When asked about the possibility of a walk out from the triumvirate that is Marko, Max and his father Jos, the Red Bull boss was defiant.

 

 

 

Horner distances himself from Marko

“Obviously, a lot is made of this stuff. But we are one team, and nobody is bigger than the team,” said Horner to Sky F1. “Everybody has a role to play. That’s from the very bottom to the very top.”

Dr. Marko had set the paddock tongues alight when he suggested he may be suspended this coming week and not present at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix. Speaking to Austrian broadcaster ORF, the 81 year old Austrian claimed there was a “theoretical possibility” Red Bull would exclude him from their paddock contingent in Melbourne but insisted whether he was present in Australia was his decision alone.

Christian Horner distanced himself from any notion he was responsible for any investigation into Marko’s involvement in the anonymous email and leaked documents Red Bull may be conducting stating: 

“Helmut, he is a consultant to Red Bull GmbH [the wider energy drinks company based in Austria]. So, whatever the discussion was, it was between them and was not the team.”

Wolff fuels Max to Mercedes rumours

 

 

 

‘Max can leave’ says Horner

Yet the Red Bull team principle was in defiant mood when he said if Max wanted to leave the team, no one would prevent him from doing so. “It’s like anything in life, you can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper,” he said. “If somebody didn’t want to be in this team, then we’re not going to force somebody against their will to be here.”

Much of the revelations over the original allegations made and dismissed against Christian Horner have originated in foreign media close to various parties involve in the saga. Dutch publication De Telegraf first broke the news that the Red Bull team principal was under investigation leading to suggestions their source was the Verstappen family.

Helmut Marko too has his preferred mouthpieces and speaks often with the likes of ORF and ServusTV – owned by the Red Bull drinks empire. He is also connected with ‘F1-insider’ who recently revealed Max Verstappen had a clause in his contract to leave the team should Dr, Marko be removed.

The German based publication also claimed the Red Bull ace driver switched plans to travel back from Saudi Arabia with Christian Horner in favour of travelling by private jet with Dr. Marko.

Horner €700,000 payment to female accuser

 

 

 

Insider says Horner stays

Now F1-insider claims to have inside information that Red Bull have contingency plans to replace Max Verstappen if necessary. This all may depend on whether some come of peace solution can be found with Max’s father Jos who has repeatedly called for Horner to leave the team claiming he is ‘tearing it apart.’

The source claims it is now likely Horner will remain in his position and that it is then “more likely than not” that Max Verstappen will leave. Horner has made it clear he won’t stop him from doing so and now the talk turns to who would the F1 world champions replace their star driver with.

The one person who would be close to any driver comings and goings at Milton Keynes besides the team boss himself would of course be Dr. Marko who has headed up the Red Bull driver development programme for years. F1-insider now claims Christian Horner has lined up Alex Albon of Williams and McLaren’s young star Oscar Piastri to join the team.

Sergio Perez is in the final year of his contract with Red Bull and was widely tipped to be dropped last year when performing badly. Both Albon and Piastri have deals to race for their respective teams this season but not beyond. And with Mclaren CEO having tied up Lando Norris on a 5 year deal days before the Hamilton to Ferrari news broke, he may not wish to commit both his F1 drivers into the long term future.

Horner gives Max STARK ultimatum

 

 

 

Max replacements lined up

F1-insider claims Red Bull have placed “significant sums” on the table to secure the two drivers, though this does appear strange given they are out of contract at the end of this season.

Christian Horner received in Bahrain the full backing of Thai majority shareholder in the Red Bull parent company, Chaleo Yoovidhya, which would explain the possible link to part Thai, part British driver Alex Albon.

Albon came through there Red Bull academy and raced for the Red Bull team alongside Verstappen for 26 races before being replaced by Sergio Perez in 2021. Yet in his full season next to the current world champion, Albon chalked up just under half the points of the Dutch maestro.

Sergio Perez faired marginally better last season against Verstappen and so the suggestion is Red Bull are re-evaluating his previous time with the team.

Merecedes brain drain continues

 

 

 

Red Bull boss admires Piastri

Horner is known to admire McLaren’s Australian driver, Oscar Piastri, admitting he tried to sign him up before Alpine snatched him as their reserve driver.

It could be Horner is determined to show Verstappen who is the boss and will ban both Marko and his father Jos from entering the team property at future race weekends. Max will then be forced to follow up on his threats he will leave Red Bull and this would ignite one of the biggest F1 breakup stories ever seen in the 74 years of the sport.

However, from Perez perspective he has time to save his driver this season. He made Q3 on both occasions thus far and has done as well as can be expected coming second twice with team mate Max Verstappen winning both Grand Prix.

Hamilton “lost faith” in Mercedes turnaround

 

 

 

Further Perez has expressed his unconditional loyalty to Horner throughout the Red Bull drama of the past weeks and claimed Verstappen’s father was wrong suggesting the team members wanted Christian to leave.

“I think not only my support, I think the full team is fully behind him,” said Checo before the Saudi GP weekend. “He’s obviously a great guy. He’s a very important person in our organisation. The job that he’s done over the years speak for themselves. I think Christian is a key team player in this organisation. I think he’s fully focused on the racing side.”

Whether Max has burned his bridges with Horner is yet to be seen and whether his father will fall into line and stop briefing the media is at this moment an unknown that will all determine the fate of his son.

Having built the team from scratch 19 years ago, it is unknown how Christian Horner will take to the manipulative threats his 26 year old champion has attempted in recent weeks. He’s unlikely to force the issue but can make life difficult for Max should he choose to starting with banning Jos from coming anywhere near the Red Bull garage.

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