The drama at Red Bull Racing kicked off 2024 with a bang, as team boss Christian Horner faced accusations of inappropriate workplace behavior. It wasn’t just any internal dispute – it sparked a firestorm that pulled in Max Verstappen‘s father Jos, who publicly called for Horner’s removal.
"There is tension as long as he is here. It can’t go on like this, it will explode at some point," Jos had warned. "Horner plays the victim, while he is the cause of the problems."
Max first heard about the Horner situation just before the season opener in Bahrain.
"It’s never nice for the team," Max says. "Not for anyone and certainly not for himself. But ultimately, you have to continue as a team. We have to focus on performance. That’s what you’re paid for."
Despite the chaos, Horner was eventually cleared of all allegations. Max says the team actually grew stronger through the crisis.
"You can quickly say you wash your hands of it and don’t get involved," he explains. "But you owe a lot to each other in the team and you have to go through that storm together."
The three-time world champion wasn’t too rattled by it all. "There are worse things in life. For me, it wasn’t difficult to keep the focus on racing."
But the drama wasn’t over. Soon after, rumors spread that Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s 81-year-old team advisor, might be forced out. Max wasn’t having it.
"If Marko has to leave, I’ll leave too," he declared at the time.
"He’s almost like a second father to me," Max explains now. "He made it possible for me to start in Formula 1. We’ve been through a lot together – good things and bad things. That makes you loyal to someone."
Things have finally settled down at Red Bull. Even the tension between Max’s father and Horner has eased.
"There was a lot of mud-slinging left and right," Max admits. "But what matters is that you solve it together, not in the media. And that’s what they did."
