Red Bull boss Christian Horner faces fresh calls to go over bombshell text messages leak which is ‘driving team apart’ – as F1 champ Max Verstappen’s father accuses under-fire racing chief of ‘playing the victim’
- Jos Verstappen accused Horner of ‘playing the victim’ and causing tension
- Mr Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell showed a show of unity during Saturday’s Grand Prix
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is facing fresh calls to resign amid a row over leaked text messages.
Jos Verstappen, who manages his world champion son Max, said the ongoing furore was “tearing the team apart” and added that there was tension as long as Mr Horner remained in place.
Verstappen Snr, 51, further accused Mr Horner of ‘playing the victim’ when he was the cause of the problems, saying the team would ‘explode’ if he refused to step aside.
Mr Horner saw his side take first and second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, where he was seen hugging his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who put on a show of unity despite sending him to allegedly ‘read the riot act’.
The 50-year-old was cleared by an investigation into alleged inappropriate behavior by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, but new leaks emerged 24 hours later.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is facing fresh calls to quit over leaked messages after he was seen hugging his wife Geri Halliwell during Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix
The Red Bull chief insisted he would ‘100 percent’ still lead the team at next week’s race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Red Bull’s Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday
Horner stands behind his wife as Red Bull celebrates taking first and second place in the first race of the season
Jos Verstappen called on Mr Horner to resign, saying the allegations were ‘tearing the team apart’
Verstappen Snr was spotted ‘several times’ with Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff
But Verstappen Snr said the situation ‘couldn’t continue like this’ and ‘wasn’t good for the team’, the Telegraph reported.
In a further blow to the Red Bull director, Verstappen Snr was seen with Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff on Saturday.
The pair were photographed in Bahrain ‘several times’ – a sign that a possible move could be considered.
Mercedes is about to lose a big name as Lewis Hamilton will take to the track with Ferrari from next year.
Mr Wolff was among fierce critics of the way Red Bull’s parent company handled the investigation and last week called for “greater transparency” in the investigation.
Saudi Arabia will host the second Formula 1 race of the season next Saturday.
Just a day after surviving an internal investigation into “controlling behavior”, Mr Horner was dealt another blow after 79 screenshots of WhatsApp messages and images were leaked to journalists and Formula 1 officials.
The WhatsApp messages were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including the chairman of the sport’s governing body Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the nine other grid team leaders, as well as members of the media. .
Mr Horner was cleared of wrongdoing in an internal investigation on Wednesday, before more WhatsApp messages and images emerged a day later
Red Bull took first and second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix
The Red Bull director refused to be drawn into the new allegations and said he would not comment on speculation.
After Saturday’s success in Bahrain, he denied his team was divided by the speculation.
He said: ‘You can’t achieve these kinds of results if you’re not united.’
The race team boss insisted he would still be ‘100 per cent’ in position when the race got underway in Jeddah next week, adding: ‘Yes, absolutely. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.’