Max's father wants 'peace' and 'calm' restored at Red Bull

Mar.18 (GMM) Jos Verstappen wants “peace” and “calm” restored behind the scenes at Red Bull because his son Max is bombarded with questions about the Christian Horner power struggle at every race.

The saga surrounding an obvious management power struggle and Horner’s behaviour with a now-suspended female staffer continues to run and run.

The latest development is that the woman has now filed a complaint with the FIA via the Formula 1 governing body’s ethics committee.

“Red Bull Racing said it had no knowledge of the complaint and would not comment further,” a report in the major German newspaper Bild said.

Last week, it emerged that the woman has also appealed the findings of Red Bull’s own internal investigation, which had cleared Horner of wrongdoing.

“A timetable for her appeal process is being drawn up,” a source said.

As for the new complaint lodged with the FIA, a spokesperson for the Paris-based federation said the ethics committee will work autonomously and with confidentiality.

“As a result, we are unable to confirm receipt of the complaint or make comment,” the spokesperson is quoted as saying by international media.

Other sources report that Red Bull’s warring factions, including Horner, Dr Helmut Marko and the Verstappens, are implementing a public “ceasefire” on the scandal ahead of this weekend’s Australian GP.

Whilst competing at a rally in Belgium – which he won – at the weekend, Max Verstappen’s father Jos admitted that a “power struggle” is underway at Red Bull.

“That’s part of it,” he is quoted by Belgian news agency Sporza, “but it is also necessary that there is peace in the team now. It’s necessary to get some calm again, but given the circumstances, it will take a while, I think.

“I can’t say much about it,” Verstappen senior added. “Hopefully they can concentrate on racing again soon, because that’s what it’s all about. And it’s important that Max continues to win.

“The car is running very well and between the engineers and him there is nothing wrong. For the most part, Max can switch off, but he gets a lot of questions about it,” Jos insisted.

“He doesn’t like that, but it is also part of Formula 1.”

Leo Turrini, a highly respected Italian journalist, thinks the entire saga is about more than Horner’s behaviour, or even some arbitrary push for power.

“Maybe Verstappen senior and Marko are right in doubting that the empire can survive without Porsche from 2026,” he wrote in his Quotidiano column.

“They’re not arguing about ‘metoo’, they’re fighting each other because the future is at stake. And they could all lose.

“Max has a clause to get out of the contract, and Mercedes would take him straight away. At Aston Martin they would cover him with gold,” Turrini joked.

“But what are Max’s intentions? Give up the 2025 title to prepare for a new era?”