Translation:

NEXT ESCALATION IN THE RED-BULL WAR

Verstappen threatens if Marko is sacked

GP SAUDI ARABIA 2024

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is trying to get rid of Helmut Marko with the help of the Thai majority owners. In doing so, he is openly opposing Max Verstappen. The world champion demands loyalty to the man from Graz.

Michael Schmidt

08.03.2024

The Red Bull drama enters the next round. All attempts to get rid of team boss Christian Horner have been fended off thanks to the support of the Thai majority owners. An investigation by a law firm cleared him of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee. But apart from Horner, nobody knows exactly what the acquittal says.

Written requests for a complete clarification from both the current engine supplier Honda and the future engine partner Ford bounce off Horner. He refers to the dismissal of the complaint and wants to let the affair blow over. Out of a feeling of strength, Horner now goes on the counter-attack and tries to get rid of the alleged saboteurs.

Red Bull sporting director Helmut Marko explained in Jeddah that the second world championship race of the year could possibly have been his last. Horner threatened the man from Graz with suspension. He allegedly used the fact that Marko blabbed about the letter from Honda on ORF as an excuse. Horner also seems to be accusing him of being behind the leaking of internal information about the employee’s complaint. Which is rather unlikely, because Marko, as a lawyer, is certainly aware of the consequences of such an action.

The tablecloth between Horner and Marko seems to have been cut.

Horner wants to suspend Marko

With the help of his sponsor Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51 per cent of Red Bull, Horner is in a position to get rid of his adversaries. Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff could also be targeted by the 50-year-old Englishman, who wants to become the sole head of all Red Bull motorsport activities with the connivance of Thailand.

Events came thick and fast on Friday. Marko responded to an imminent dismissal in front of the TV microphone with the words: “We need a clarification of the matter in order to prevent damage to the brand and the team. The important thing is that we must not do anything that could cost Max the title. But everything also has to be right for me to want to continue working in this environment. I’ll have to discuss this with my line manager tomorrow.” Oliver Mintzlaff, that is.

After a separation initially seemed certain, a door could perhaps open again. Possibly also because of the clear words of Max Verstappen. The world champion backed Marko in such a way that Horner must fear losing his superstar at the end of the year.

In Max Verstappen, Marko still has an important ally in the team.

Verstappen demands loyalty to Marko

Verstappen said at the press conference after his superior pole position in Jeddah: “I have great respect for Helmut. We have achieved a lot together. He and Didi Mateschitz have built up the team from day one. That’s why everyone owes him a debt of loyalty. Including me.”

The 26-year-old Dutchman went one step further: “I have said to everyone in the team that Helmut is a key figure in our team and that it is important that he stays. He was and is an important part of my decisions, also for the future. If such an important pillar were to leave us, it wouldn’t be good for me or for the team, because in the end it’s the overall performance of a team that counts. Helmut has to stay, there’s no doubt about that. If he leaves, we’ll have a problem.”

That was more than just a warning to Horner. Translated, this statement could also be interpreted as follows: If Marko goes, I’m gone too. Where to go was already discussed at length in the run-up to the Saudi Arabian GP. Verstappen’s first port of call would be Mercedes. Apparently, his contract gives him the opportunity to leave the team if the management structure at Red Bull changes significantly.

Christian Horner wants to take his chances. The team boss is also prepared to accept the possible departure of Max Verstappen.

Horner going it alone?

It is unclear whether Horner has understood the message. When asked, Marko said that the balls are flying back and forth at the moment and that we have to expect new updates every hour, but there are also voices in the team who claim that Horner is not looking to the left or right on his ego trip. One voice from the team: “He seriously believes that he can win without Verstappen, Newey and Ford because he thinks he is the architect of success.”