Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has met with Max Verstappen’s management for face-to-face talks following a Bahrain Grand Prix where he has dominated off-track conversation.
Horner saw an internal investigation into him for inappropriate behaviour ‘dismissed’ by Red Bull GmbH in the build-up to the season opener in Bahrain, but despite the findings being kept private for confidentiality reasons, conversation has carried on surrounding the fallout of the investigation.
An anonymous email leak which claimed to contain evidence into the investigation was sent to members of the media in Bahrain, with the Red Bull team principal refusing to comment on “anonymous speculative messages from an unknown source” after the race.
According to the Press Association, their source claims talks “went well” between Verstappen’s management and Horner in Dubai on Monday, with senior Red Bull team figures also said to be present.
These talks come off the back of a weekend in which Verstappen dominated the on-track proceedings, but the ongoing conversation surrounding Horner was the main topic of conversation away from it.
Having always denied the claims of inappropriate behaviour against him made by a female employee, Horner admitted the weekend was “not pleasant” due to the “unwanted attention” on him and his team.
Footage had emerged of a seemingly heated conversation between Horner and Verstappen’s father Jos, which led to the publication of an interview with Verstappen Sr in which he claimed Red Bull “is in danger of being torn apart” if the team boss stays in position, though a Red Bull spokesperson said in response that “there are no issues here. The team are united and we are focused on racing.”
The 52-year-old Dutchman is set to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend, though it is understood that this is for a long-planned rally appearance and he remains a welcome guest at Red Bull.
When asked about Horner’s position himself on Friday, Max Verstappen offered praise for his boss and the sporting achievements through which he has led the team.
“Listen, when I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely, from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that. So that’s what I’m also dealing with,” he told media including PlanetF1.com.
“I speak to Christian a lot. And also, of course, throughout the weekend here, he’s fully committed to the team.
“He’s also here for the performance, of course. Probably a little bit distracted, but like I said before, we just focus on the performance side of things. And that’s how we all work together.”
0 comments
