The war of words at the Red Bull Ring between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner continued after the Sprint Qualifying this afternoon.
While Jos complained about Horner’s behavior towards him (read here), the Red Bull director hit back at Max’s father and joked that Jos was free for Mercedes F1, unlike Max (read here).
That was enough to annoy Jos Verstappen and the latter took a step forward: he did not rule out the possibility that his son might indeed move to Mercedes for the 2025 Formula 1 season!
An altercation between Jos Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has caused a stir in Austria.
When asked about his son’s immediate future with the Red Bull team, Verstappen Sr. said: “There’s so much going on, so I don’t want to say too much.”
With Toto Wolff keen on signing the Dutchman, Verstappen Sr. was asked if a move to the Brackley-based team was out of the question for Max, to which he replied: “That’s right.”
Verstappen’s comments came moments after Max took pole position in Austria, an effort praised by his father.
“Everyone is close and Max did a perfect lap. He was very strong. It will be a great race and I think Max was happy.”
“When you see the performance of the Red Bull in the other car (Perez), Max proves once again that he is the one who makes the performance of this team now.”
A final tackle that Red Bull and Horner will appreciate at its true value.
Dr Helmut Marko did not want to take a position in the paddock.
“Talk to Jos or Christian. But I think it’s kindergarten, at best a playground…”
As for Toto Wolff, he accused Horner of speaking in a “stupid”.
“I didn’t hear what he said at all,” he replies. He is then told that the Red Bull director suggested he sign with Jos Verstappen.
“It’s just stupid. He says stupid things and gets deeper into his nonsense day after day. Signing with Jos? It’s not that bad but we’re aiming for Max!”
