Verstappen’s ‘Horner vs Jos’ intervention sends message

Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen says the latest public row between his father Jos Verstappen and his Red Bull team boss Christian Horner at the Austrian Grand Prix was “not pleasant” and was “avoidable”.

But even if this part of his reaction to the disagreement was predictable, the rest of his response strongly suggests that he does not view both parties as equally responsible for what he clearly perceives as an unnecessary distraction.

Verstappen Sr accused Horner in the Dutch media of trying to have him excluded from a “parade of legends” event organized by Red Bull as part of the Austrian GP festivities at his home track.

Horner denied exercising a “veto or anything like that” when asked about it at Friday’s press conference, but – with Verstappen Sr having withdrawn of his own accord – punctuated his media appearances with several responses that could only be interpreted as vetoes against his star driver’s father.

That included the claim that “the legends will be in action later” – with an “anyway” perhaps omitted – and the suggestion that if rivals Mercedes are so desperate to sign a Verstappen, Jos could be the one available.

Verstappen Jr would never appreciate something like that happening in the background.

And when asked about it after his victory in the Austrian GP sprint, he replied: “Of course it’s not pleasant. Neither for me, nor for my father, nor for Christian, nor for the team.

“Of course you don’t want these things to happen.

“I think my dad was pretty clear about the reason behind it, and of course I can understand his opinion on that because at the end of the day he’s asked to drive the car, and he finds out he didn’t want to drive the car… well, my dad actually, he doesn’t care about driving the car but he was asked: ‘please do it for the fans, the Dutch fans, blah blah blah, Red Bull, we have a great relationship with our circuit…’. So I understand.

“On the other hand, I’m here, of course, to focus on the performance side, so I want a good relationship with everyone.

“But of course this scenario could have been avoided.”

The fact that Max said he “could understand” Jos’s position – and that he agreed with Jos’s belief that he “wasn’t wanted to drive the car” is remarkable.

But it also fits into a broader pattern of Max’s irritation with the off-track tensions that have dominated much of Red Bull’s season.

He has largely maintained public neutrality in any perceived conflicts with Red Bull, although he notably intervened to silence rumors that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had been sidelined.

Equally notable was Marko himself who used a weekend appearance on Red Bull-run Servus TV to call for a full focus on track matters in light of the McLaren challenge.

It is a view that Verstappen Jr himself is likely to share too, given his tone before the weekend underlined that he views McLaren as a serious threat.

He described the MCL60 as “very strong” and “good everywhere”, particularly in terms of tyre life compared to Red Bull, and said of the RB20 he wanted to see “a bit more pace” after being “too slow” in the Spanish Grand Prix – even though he won it.

Red Bull looked slightly stronger at the Red Bull Ring, but its lead driver’s overall outlook will not have been transformed by a sprint in which he had to fight off a serious challenge from Lando Norris and had to perform a daring overtake to seal victory.

That same weekend, Verstappen also told the media that he would stay at Red Bull in 2025. While that should be taken as gospel – and some in the F1 paddock clearly don’t think so – it’s not thought to be his last chance to seek alternative employment in the coming years if he so wishes, even under his current contract.

Red Bull would therefore do well to ensure that its public messages – whether on issues such as that bizarre test row or more significant matters – are aligned with Max Verstappen’s wishes.