Speaking for Motorsport.comJos Verstappen said that the departures of several important members of the Red Bull Racing team corresponded to what he had anticipated at the start of the season, in the context of the Horner affair.
At the time of the Bahrain Grand Prix, at the start of the 2024 season, Max Verstappen’s father said that the Austrian team risked “to tear oneself apart” if Christian Horner, then caught in a case revolving around his alleged behavior towards a Red Bull employee, remained at the head of the structure. Since then, Horner has been cleared by an internally-initiated investigation led by an independent lawyer.
However, after this episode, several team executives decided to leave: head of strategy Will Courtenay, who will join McLaren as sporting director, is the latest in a series of departures involving key members and for a long time, having worked in Milton Keynes for over 20 years. Before him, chief technical director Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley have already packed their bags, to join Aston Martin and Audi respectively.
Asked about the subject by Motorsport.com on the occasion of the East Belgian Rally last week, Jos Verstappen said: “That’s what I warned about. The team said to me, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, we have someone else [à mettre à ce poste]’. But too many people [ont décidé de partir] From now on. Max is asked about this every time and so on. So, yeah, I think what’s happening right now is not a good thing.”
Horner has repeatedly explained that the team is strong enough to withstand such departures, a view which also guided the restructuring decided last month, which saw several current members of Red Bull Racing, including the Max Verstappen’s race engineer, be promoted to newly created positions. “[Horner] always keep it under wraps.”added Jos Verstappen.
On a sporting level, after a dominant start to the season, Red Bull remains in eight Grands Prix without a victory, which has not happened since 2020. In the constructors’ championship, McLaren took the advantage in Baku and now has 31 points. ‘advance. Among the drivers, Max Verstappen remains in control with a lead of 52 units over Lando Norris, six races and three sprints from the end of the season.
Comments collected by Erwin Jaeggi
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