At the moment, there are the fights on the track between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, then the one behind the scenes between Jos and Christian Horner. A few minutes after having superbly disposed of his English rival on the Red BullRing circuit by winning the Austrian sprint, Max was questioned about the latest bickering between his father and his boss at Red Bull.
As a reminder, on Saturday, our Dutch colleagues from the Telegraaf published an article in which Jos Verstappen directly attacked Christian Horner. Our colleagues from the Netherlands revealed that the British team principal was surprised to see that Jos was on the list of legends supposed to parade at the wheel of an RB8 this weekend and that he had put a possible veto on the participation of the father of his star driver, in the name of their personal differences.
Horner-Jos, episode 159
Christian Horner, at a press conference, defended himself this Thursday by denying any veto but half-heartedly acknowledging frosty relations with the father of his flagship driver. It must be said that when he was accused of inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature against a colleague (of which he was ultimately cleared after an internal investigation), Christian Horner endured numerous media diatribes from Jos Verstappen.
Max, who watches the bullets go by in the middle of a shooting range and who would like not to have to count the points, did not remain completely neutral but delivered a tempered reaction in favor of his father. “Obviously it’s not great, not for me, not for my dad, Christian or the team… you never want that to happen. My father was clear about the reasons behind this however. Of course, I can understand his opinion on that. Ultimately, he was asked to drive the car, only to realize he was not wanted there.”
Max Verstappen takes sides but not too much
And the Batavian continued: “My father doesn’t really care about driving this car, but he was pushed to do it, for the Dutch fans and the fact that it’s Red Bull’s home Grand Prix etc… I understand but for my part, I focus on the performance on track. I want a good relationship with everyone but this scenario could have been avoided, yes.” Between his father and his boss, Super Max walks a tightrope. But being a tightrope walker and walking on the edge has never been a problem for him.
READ ALSO > Christian Horner settles his scores: “If he (Toto Wolff) really wants a Verstappen, Jos may be available”
