Max Verstappen has weighed in on his father Jos’ controversial comments after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Jos Verstappen acknowledged tensions within the Red Bull camp after Christian Horner was exonerated by Red Bull GmbH following an internal investigation into his actions as team leader, with Max’s father demanding for Horner’s dismissal as team boss.
Max Verstappen: Me, my father, and my manager are a team.
With father Jos having publicly made such inflammatory statements against Red Bull’s team boss, the team’s talismanic lead driver Verstappen was bombarded with questions about the remarks as he addressed to the media ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend.
“I don’t know, because I’m the driver, I don’t know what’s going on higher up, right?” he replied when asked if he agreed that Red Bull is on the cusp of an explosion.
“However, I am just engaged to focus on the performance side of things. Of course, that is what I will be focusing on this weekend.
“Ideally, what has been said in Bahrain, from everyone basically, is to just leave that behind and hopefully we have a bit more of a quiet weekend here.”
When asked if he agreed with his father’s assertion that the team would fall apart if Horner remained in charge, Verstappen answered, “I’m not sure. I hope not. It shouldn’t be; this is a solid firm and team with many strong members.”
The younger Verstappen revealed that he had spoken with his father regarding the consequences from Bahrain and hinted at his views by saying it would be unusual to disagree with his father’s position.
“I stayed with him until yesterday. “We communicate all the time; we’re a team,” he explained.
“It’s just myself, my dad, and Raymond [Vermeulen, manager]. That will always be the case, but I believe he certainly felt that way.
“From my perspective, it makes no difference whether you’re on one side or the other. Being on the opposite side would be strange for me as my father’s son.
“But, from my perspective, I only want to focus on the performing aspect of things. I really want to talk less about what we’re doing as a team outside of the track and more on our actual performance, which, at the moment, I believe we have a great car and are looking forward to a great year.”
Max Verstappen has confirmed his intention to continue his contract with Red Bull until 2028. He also stated that he has no plans to terminate professional relations with his father or manager.
“I don’t see myself in F1 without them by my side, for sure,” he was quoted as saying.
With Horner and Verstappen senior at odds over the former’s ongoing leadership of Red Bull, Max stated he hopes the two sides can resolve their disagreements.
“I think everyone, in general – even if you have arguments or not – there are always things that can be worked out or, in general, I think everyone is man enough and respectful enough to each other in that sense,” he went on to say.
“I don’t always agree with everything that happens in Formula One. That is why it can be beneficial to have a debate about some issues. You may agree to disagree at times, but that is normal in a partnership.
Verstappen Sr. has made pointed statements that may not exactly line with his son’s philosophy, and Verstappen said he understands his father wanting to speak on his behalf.
“My dad and I are very close, we call every day even if he’s not around or whatever,” he went on to say.
“But, on the other hand, I’m not a man who likes to talk a lot about specific topics. I only want to focus on the driving part. If there are any concerns, we always endeavor to resolve them as a team.”
But, more importantly, does Verstappen feel his father regrets making those comments?
“I have not asked him that. “From what I know of him, he’s always very outspoken,” he explained.
“He’s definitely not a liar.
“For myself, that’s what I can say about things, but I think, in general, for the team, it’s very important that we can finally talk about the performance of the great car that we actually have, and it appears that no one has mentioned it much in the last few days, unfortunately.
“My dad is the only one who knows that. The point is, people will start inventing stuff, speculating, and believing that they know why he said certain things, but at the end of the day, he is the only one.
“That’s the purpose of social media, right? There’s not much I can do about it other than conjecture and make things up.”
Leave a Reply