Max Verstappen Stands by Christian Horner Amid Leadership Controversy
Before the Bahrain Grand Prix, which marks the beginning of the season, Horner was exonerated after an inquiry prompted by claims from a Red Bull employee.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, an email from an unidentified sender delivered documents purportedly showing WhatsApp exchanges between Horner and the accuser to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the other nine Team Principals, and various F1 journalists.
The Red Bull team principal had a meeting with Ben Sulayem and Domenicali on Friday, and he might be subjected to a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute by the FIA.
This controversy has cast a shadow over the season’s opening race weekend, during which Red Bull, led by Verstappen, clinched pole position on Friday.
Max Verstappen when asked by the media on the recent development of allegations against Horner stated: “From my side and I think what I can see from the mechanics and engineers, we are fully focused on the car and the performance during the weekend.
“That’s how it should be and that’s what we continue to do. It’s not our business, we’re not particularly involved in that.
“We’re paid to do our job, that’s what we’re doing and that’s what we love doing. That’s what we focus on.”
Following the reported leak on Friday, Horner issued a statement, reasserting his denial of all allegations made against him.
In response to inquiries about his confidence in Horner’s leadership, Verstappen stated: “When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss.
“From the performance side of things, you can’t even question that. That’s what I’m also dealing with.
“I speak to Christian a lot, also throughout the weekend here, he’s fully committed to the team.
“He’s also here for the performance. Of course, he’s probably a little distracted.
“But we just focus on the performance side of things and that’s how we work together.”
Max Verstappen has expressed unwavering confidence in Christian Horner’s leadership abilities despite the current controversy involving the Team Principal.
Before the Bahrain Grand Prix, which marks the beginning of the season, Horner was exonerated after an inquiry prompted by claims from a Red Bull employee.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, an email from an unidentified sender delivered documents purportedly showing WhatsApp exchanges between Horner and the accuser to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the other nine Team Principals, and various F1 journalists.
The Red Bull team principal had a meeting with Ben Sulayem and Domenicali on Friday, and he might be subjected to a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute by the FIA.
This controversy has cast a shadow over the season’s opening race weekend, during which Red Bull, led by Verstappen, clinched pole position on Friday.
Max Verstappen when asked by the media on the recent development of allegations against Horner stated: “From my side and I think what I can see from the mechanics and engineers, we are fully focused on the car and the performance during the weekend.
“That’s how it should be and that’s what we continue to do. It’s not our business, we’re not particularly involved in that.
“We’re paid to do our job, that’s what we’re doing and that’s what we love doing. That’s what we focus on.”
Following the reported leak on Friday, Horner issued a statement, reasserting his denial of all allegations made against him.
In response to inquiries about his confidence in Horner’s leadership, Verstappen stated: “When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss.
“From the performance side of things, you can’t even question that. That’s what I’m also dealing with.
“I speak to Christian a lot, also throughout the weekend here, he’s fully committed to the team.
“He’s also here for the performance. Of course, he’s probably a little distracted.
“But we just focus on the performance side of things and that’s how we work together.”
