In addition to the feud within Red Bull, Max Verstappen’s victories are a side issue

What more could Red Bull want? The team has once again designed a brilliant Formula 1 car, and in Max Verstappen it also has the best driver of the moment. After Verstappen’s second unchallenged victory in two races on Saturday at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, 2024 looks set to be another season of total dominance.

And yet a publicly fought power struggle within Red Bull Racing (RBR) meant that the British-Austrian team’s victories last week were an afterthought. The action on the track had almost become an annoying interruption of a stream of gossip, revelations and spicy statements, in which at one point it even became clear that Verstappen’s future with the team is not guaranteed.

A scandal surrounding team boss Christian Horner (50) was the start of all the unrest. After weeks of commotion surrounding the controversial Briton, an external lawyer engaged by Red Bull cleared Horner of sexual misconduct against a female team member on the Wednesday before the season opening in Bahrain. But a day later, just about everyone in the F1 world, including team bosses and journalists, received a digital folder containing incriminating messages between Horner and the woman who accused him. The sender was – and is – unknown, but there could be no misunderstanding about the message: Horner has to go.

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In the week after Bahrain, Red Bull continued to dominate the motorsport media and the sports pages in mainly German and British newspapers. Gradually, an increasingly clear picture emerged of a battle going on behind the scenes for control of RBR, and in which the Horner apps – the authenticity of which has never been denied by Horner himself – are only a side story.

Two camps

The battle pits two camps within RBR against each other, each supported by its own faction at the Red Bull top. In one camp is Horner, the Briton who has made Red Bull’s racing activities a huge success over the past twenty years. He is supported by the Thai Chalerm Yoovidhya. The son of Red Bull’s co-founder. Yoovidhya owns 51 percent of the group, and is therefore ultimately in charge – even when it comes to Horner’s position.

Opposite Horner and the Thai side of the Red Bull top are Helmut Marko and the Verstappen camp: Max, his father Jos and manager Raymond Vermeulen. Marko (80), an Austrian former driver who lost an eye in an F1 accident in 1972, heads the program with which Red Bull scouts talented drivers and prepares them for Formula 1. Besides Horner, he is the most influential figure within the team.

Marko has traditionally had good ties with the Austrian side of the Red Bull group, represented by co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz until his death in 2022. Since the death of Mateschitz, the multi-billionaire who oversaw all Red Bull’s sporting activities as a kind of father figure, tensions between the camps within RBR have increased.

It is not possible to say with certainty what exactly caused these tensions. But most stories indicate that Horner wanted to gain more power after Mateschitz’s death, at the expense of Marko.

Jos Verstappen hinted at such a role for Horner when he told journalists in Bahrain last week expressed criticism on the team boss. “As long as he is here, there will be tensions. The team is in danger of falling apart. This cannot continue. He plays the victim, while he is the cause of all the problems.”

Although Horner and manager Raymond Vermeulen still after Bahrain spoke to each other to clear the air, the play resumed in Saudi Arabia. Marko said Friday told the Austrian broadcaster ORF that Red Bull might suspend him. He is now being investigated for allegedly leaking sensitive information to the media. It was immediately whispered that Marko could be the person behind the anonymous email with Horner’s apps.

For Max Verstappen, the possible suspension of Marko was a reason to take a clear stand for the first time. He emphasized his loyalty to Marko, the man who scouted him in 2014 and gave him the opportunity to debut in Formula 1 a year later, at the age of seventeen. “I have always indicated to the team that Helmut is very important. For me, and for the team. And therefore also for my future.” said Verstappen Friday against the press. “I can’t continue without him.”

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An explosive statement from Verstappen, because journalists now do too had outdated that his contract, which runs until 2028, contains a clause that allows him to leave early if Marko leaves RBR. The fact that Jos Verstappen had been seen a week earlier with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff completed the picture. Wolff is looking for a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, who will leave for Ferrari in 2025. “I would like to have him,” said Wolff last weekend about Verstappen, adding that he would also include Marko.

Armistice

But even before Verstappen climbed into his RB20 on Saturday to drive to his nineteenth victory in twenty races, the sting was pulled out of the situation. Marko had spoken to Red Bull director Oliver Mintzlaff, and that was according to both went “very well”. There was no longer any question of a suspension. And leaks to the media? “I’m happy if I can control my iPhone a little,” said Marko. According to him, working with Horner is no problem either. “We’ve been doing that for nineteen years, so why not? But things do need to be resolved.”

After his victory, Verstappen emphasized the importance of “peace” in the team. And indeed, when Red Bull left Jeddah, there seemed to be a temporary truce.

Although it is quite possible that the battle will flare up again in the near future. Horner dug his heels even deeper into the sand on Saturday after the race. Although he said he has a “strong bond” with Verstappen, he emphasized also that no one is bigger than the team. “If someone doesn’t want to be on this team, we’re not going to force them,” Horner said to reporters. “Max has been here since he was eighteen. I have no doubts about his dedication and passion. But that’s how it works.”

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