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Max Verstappen sensationally threatened to leave Red Bull on Friday night if the team’s parent company got rid of his motorsport adviser Helmut Marko as the fallout from the Christian Horner controversy took its place.
Verstappen said he “couldn’t pass up” the guy who brought him to Formula 1.
The three-time world champion spoke after Marko revealed on Austrian television that he could be suspended as a result of the Christian Horner saga. The Red Bull team principal, 50, was cleared last week of allegations of controlling behaviour through a colleague. His accuser has now been suspended as a direct result of that investigation and it now appears that a separate internal investigation is underway at Red Bull GmbH into leaks that occurred in last month’s internal investigation into Horner.
Verstappen, who has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, is believed to have a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if Marko leaves.
There is a seat up for grabs at Mercedes next year with Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari and rumours linking Verstappen with a sensational move to Brackley have become more potent in recent days. There is a hypothesis that the Verstappen Group suspects that Mercedes’ powertrain may simply be larger than Red Bull’s in 2026, when new regulations come into force.
Speaking after taking pole for Saturday’s race, Verstappen upped the ante even further by making it clear he supported Marko.
“My loyalty to him is great,” he said. It’s very important that he stays on the team. He and Dietrich [Mateschitz] built this team. I feel like if such a vital pillar falls, it’s not smart for me. For me, Helmut stays. “
He later told Dutch media: “I can’t continue at Red Bull without Helmut. If that happens, it will be an unworkable situation. “
Verstappen took pole for the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia on Friday, with 18-year-old Briton Ollie Bearman completing eleventh place for Ferrari after receiving a late call from Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard had to undergo an appendicitis operation. .
Just when it looked like the Red Bull controversy was about to run out of oxygen, with Christian Horner subsidised through the team’s majority owner, his wife Geri “supporting him hugely” and preparing to fly to Saudi Arabia to be by his side again. and even Jos Verstappen is silent for the moment, Helmut Marko arrives to pour kerosene on him.
On Friday night, Red Bull’s 80-year-old motorsport adviser put a dramatic new spin on a bitter internal struggle that now appears to be on the verge of a conclusion. Marko’s admission that he could be suspended via Red Bull opens the door for Max Verstappen to leave the team, as the world champion is said to have a safeguard clause in his contract that allows him to leave if Marko ever leaves.
The only question is what Marko’s motives were for giving this interview to the Austrian TV channel ORF.
He would possibly dare to sack Red Bull, to pave the way for Verstappen’s departure.
Verstappen is likely to say, as his father did last weekend, that Red Bull will have to sack Horner before the team implodes.
Anyway, in a new twist ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Marko confessed to ORF that he could “theoretically” be suspended via Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of Red Bull Racing, in the very near future.
It’s unclear why he said that, although it’s now certain that a separate internal investigation was carried out at Red Bull GmbH into leaks from last month’s internal investigation into Horner.
The Red Bull team principal, 50, was cleared last week of allegations of controlling behaviour through a colleague. His accuser has now been suspended as a direct result of this investigation.
Marko is believed to have been told through his employer, Red Bull GmbH (the 80-year-old is not a Red Bull Racing employee) not to give media interviews. But defying this order, Marko spoke to ORF in the Jeddah paddock ahead of qualifying. When asked what the likelihood was that he wouldn’t compete in the next race, Marko replied enigmatically: “It’s hard to judge. But in the end, I’ll decide for myself what to do. “
When asked if there was a chance that he would be suspended in the near future, he replied: “There is a theoretical option. “
On the option of Verstappen leaving Red Bull, he added: “Max is the most powerful asset, there are no faster drivers at the moment. To lose him would be a huge loss. Also for the mechanics and engineers, all of whom try to work for Max.
A Red Bull spokesperson told Telegraph Sport that Marko had been suspended.
Marko is speculated to have been dealing with Red Bull GmbH’s majority Thai owner, Chalerm Yoovidhya.
Speaking after taking pole for Saturday’s race, Verstappen upped the ante even further by making it clear that he supports Marko. “My loyalty to him is great,” he said. It’s very important that he stays on the team. He and Dietrich [Mateschitz] built this team. I feel like if such a vital pillar falls, it’s not smart for me. For me, Helmut stays. “
There are separate rumours in Jeddah that Yoovidhya could try to separate Red Bull Racing from parent company Red Bull in Salzburg.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff then gave the impression of mocking his rivals by jokingly saying he would integrate Marko into his team if he left Red Bull.
“In any case, we’re missing our old mascot,” Wolff said, referring to beaten three-time world champion Niki Lauda, a former non-executive chairman of Mercedes F1 and some other Austrians. use Helmut. He’s the right age. He doesn’t have a red cap, but he’ll register for us later. Wolff added: “If the team loses Helmut, it will be a loss for Red Bull and for the team. . »
Marko’s comes as Horner and Red Bull face renewed tension from rivals over their handling of the controversy.
Zak Brown, McLaren’s chief executive, said he had “never noticed anything like this”, adding that Horner would have been suspended if the same allegations had been made against him at McLaren.
Speaking on Thursday, Horner said it was time to “draw a line” under the controversy, according to Red Bull’s rivals of the controversy for political gain.
However, Brown rejected that claim, insisting that McLaren would have treated things very differently. “Having been in Formula 1 for many decades, I can’t stand an incident like this,” Brown said.
“I don’t know the details. I know what we would do as McLaren: we would suspend the individual while an investigation is conducted, we would be incredibly transparent about that. “
Brown added that if he had a void in the driver’s seat, Verstappen would be his first choice to fill it. “I couldn’t be happier with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri,” he said. “Obviously, Max is a great talent. So, of course, if I had a spot available, he’d be the most sensible on my list. “
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