Max Verstappen could reportedly wing it and leave Red Bull Racing over the ongoing Christian Horner scandal.
Three-time world champion driver Verstappen’s father Jos has told friends that Max will leave the F1-based team if Horner remains in power. According to the Telegraph.
Mr Horner, head of Red Bull’s racing division since its creation in 2005, was recently acquitted in an internal workplace misconduct investigation of “coercive conduct”, shortly after a dispute between him and a female employee. Hundreds of text messages and photos were leaked.
Horner is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
Last week, F1 officials reportedly received an anonymous email containing 79 screenshots of interactions between Mr Horner and an unidentified employee.
Mr. Horner claims that he “cooperated fully,” but the specific details of the matter are unclear.
Jos Verstappen recently called for Horner to resign. The two reportedly had a heated exchange last week.
“There’s some tension here while he (Horner) holds his position,” Jos previously told the Daily Mail after his son won the Bahrain Grand Prix. “The team is on the verge of collapse. We can’t continue like this. It’s going to explode. He’s playing the victim when he’s the one causing the problem.”
Jos Verstappen has denied allegations that he was involved in the email leak, citing his son’s success at Red Bull and that he had no motive to interfere.
There would be a double whammy if Verstappen were to leave Red Bull for racing rival Mercedes.
According to the Telegraph, Verstappen and Mercedes-AMG Petronas team CEO Toto Wolff were spotted together multiple times at last week’s season opener and were staying in the same hotel.
If the conversation is a flirtation that leads to a partnership, they don’t hide their courtship very well, even if they do.
Wolff downplayed the possibility of adding Verstappen to the lineup after Sunday’s race, but did not rule it out.
“I think drivers will always choose the fastest car,” Wolff said. “That’s basically everything. Red Bull is the fastest car at the moment, so that will always be the priority in my opinion.”
