Jul.22 (GMM) Max Verstappen’s future remains under intense scrutiny ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP, as performance concerns and political turmoil swirl around the team following Christian Horner’s shock mid-season sacking.
Nelson Piquet Jr – former F1 driver, son of triple world champion Nelson Piquet, and brother of Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly – had stirred headlines by implying Verstappen had already signed with Mercedes.
But he is now backing down.
“That’s just a place where people go on holiday,” Piquet Jr said on the Pelas Pistas podcast, referring to reports that Verstappen and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff moored their yachts side-by-side in Sardinia last week.
“Max just wants to be where he thinks he can win. Does money play a role? Of course, but the most important factor is that he wants to be in a good car.
“The only two choices he has are Red Bull and Mercedes,” he continued. “At McLaren, both drivers win, so yeah…”
As for the Horner firing, he added: “Maybe they sent Horner away to get him (Max) to stay, I don’t know. Maybe he’s already signed, but maybe he’s also already said no.”
Verstappen is reportedly set to decide his future by the end of August. Despite a long-term contract, Red Bull is not expected to block his departure, exit clauses or not.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown, never shy in his criticism of Horner, told TSN: “Maybe the timing is a surprise, but not the outcome. There’s been a lot of turmoil and tension over the last few years. It seems to have gotten worse.”
Brown added: “Given his age and his background in motorsport, I’d be surprised if he (Horner) didn’t reappear somewhere in the industry. But maybe he could be interested in managing a football team or something else.”
The Sun newspaper reports widespread unrest inside Red Bull, suggesting Horner allies may be behind the leaks. One employee said: “It was only a day after Christian was sacked and a lot of the team were still upset when Mr (Helmut) Marko addressed us. But he just made a joke of it and told us to cheer up – he said, ‘You need to smile more’.
“It didn’t endear him to anyone.”
New Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, seen as part of the most recent Austria-based power shift with Marko in the post-Dietrich Mateschitz era, also drew criticism. “Mintzlaff also said, ‘If you have any problems, just text your line manager’,” a staffer told the tabloid.
Family friends close to Horner, rumoured to be sources of upcoming further leaks, say the long-serving team boss was blindsided. “He thought he’d been called in to speak about another issue,” one said, referring to his sacking in a London hotel.
“He was just told, ‘You have to be there’ and was dumbfounded when he was ushered into a room and effectively sacked on the spot.”
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