For several hours at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, key figures in Christian Horner’s turbulent world did their best to restore calm. First, the public demonstration of Geri joining hands, and then the leading figure in his professional life, Max Verstappen, rushed to victory to show that he, too, cared about the message. Scenes of business as usual, with the very familiar sight of the Dutch pilot stepping onto the podium to start the new season from where he left off in recent years.
But behind the scenes, Father Jos was about to aim his flamethrower at the cooling anger. Verstappen Snr and Horner, the two men who helped the star driver win three consecutive world championships, have been at odds since at least Friday. Witnesses said an impassioned conversation took place in the Red Bull manager’s paddock office that night, prompting Jos to storm out. He later returned to shake hands with Horner, but their relationship is now broken beyond repair after he became the most influential voice expressing his concerns publicly.
Verstappen said Red Bull would “explode” if the beleaguered Briton stayed put. “She’s playing the victim when she’s the one causing the problems,” the 51-year-old added.
For Horner and Red Bull, this intervention raises the bar significantly as the star driver has to choose between two of the most influential figures in his career.
Verstappen, a former Formula One driver, manages his son’s career alongside Raymond Vermuelen and is a regular at Red Bull’s sanctuary, known for his keen eye for spotting talent.
But the thrice-married father of five is no stranger to controversy. Following a fight on a go-kart track in 1998, Verstappen was sentenced to five years in prison by a Belgian court. “Verstappen was found guilty of fracturing the victim’s skull,” deputy prosecutor Cedric Stuyck told the Reuters news agency in 2000.
In 2008, Verstappen was reportedly given a three-month suspended prison sentence for threatening Max’s mother Sophie Kumpen and breaching a previously issued restraining order.
In November 2011, Verstappen denied allegations that he assaulted his unnamed 24-year-old girlfriend in a hotel room in Venlo, the Netherlands. In January 2012, he was arrested for attempted murder in the Dutch city of Roermond following allegations that he drove a car into his ex-girlfriend. He was released after two weeks in prison after the charge was withdrawn due to lack of evidence.
But in his son’s eyes, he is a hero. Verstappen has competed in 107 Grands Prix, scoring two podiums and collecting 17 championship points, with his highest placing being sixth in the standings at the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix. But taking his son Max to the top of the sport is his greatest achievement. “Max was my life project,” he said in 2019. “I wanted to win with him, to be a champion. We had a goal together. I found the time I spent with Max much more enjoyable than my own career. Let’s put it this way: I did more for Max’s career than for my own.”
By contrast, Vertsappen Jnr was reduced to tears as he remembered his father, who controversially overtook Lewis Hamilton to secure his first title in 2021. “We spent all these years traveling for this purpose and then it all came together on the last tour.” said. “This is madness.”
The star student grew up with tough love. In 2012, when Max was just 15 years old, his father threw him out of the minibus as punishment for his accident during the second round of the world karting race in Sarno, near Naples, Italy. They were returning home to the Netherlands.
“I didn’t talk to him for six or seven days,” his father explained. “I knew what I was doing. “I think that helped him and shaped him.”
While his son now has great influence over Red Bull as a result of his success on the track, even Horner’s friends acknowledge divisions in the camp. It was already known that there were internal tensions at Red Bull between team boss Horner and the company’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. The majority Thai owners and managers at the headquarters in Austria are also known to be in divided camps.
Despite launching the attack, Verstappen denies any role in the leak of text messages between Horner and the woman, allegedly sent via anonymous email last Thursday. Verstappen, who Telegraph Sport revealed had a close relationship with the complainant, was seen meeting Horner publicly on Thursday for the first time since the allegations emerged.
Verstappen’s explanation is also plausible, given the current atmosphere of fear and hatred at Red Bull: “Why would I do this when Max is doing so well here?”
However, whether Verstappen and Horner will continue to achieve this success for so long in the same garage now seems to be a matter of debate.