Red Bull calms the waters after Verstappen-Horner ‘war’
The tensions at Red Bull are starting to calm down after the ‘war’ that has erupted between Verstappen and Christian Horner, and their alleged ‘inappropriate behavior’ towards an employee. Now it was Helmut Marko who has raised the white flag to call for peace, amidst rumors placing ‘Mad Max’ at Mercedes following Toto Wolff’s insistence.
The 80-year-old Austrian advisor put a stop to the arrival of the Dutch driver, and therefore, will not follow him either, as dictated by the clause in his contract with the energy drink team. “It has been a long time… I am very grateful for Max’s loyalty, he has impressed me a lot. But for now, we are not going to Mercedes together,” he mentioned in an interview for De Telegraaf.
Helmut Marko stays at Red Bull
On the other hand, the Graz native teased the possibility of accompanying Verstappen to Mercedes, and reiterated that the driver has a contract with Red Bull until 2028. “Things have started to clear up a lot in the team,” he reiterated to the Dutch media.
He added that he has made amends with Christian Horner and will continue at Red Bull: “We have been together for 19 years, why not continue? However, there are still some issues to resolve.” It is worth noting that over the weekend there was a meeting in Saudi Arabia following accusations against Helmut Marko of being the ‘mole’ in the investigation into Christian Horner for alleged inappropriate behavior.
After the meeting, which included Olivr Mintzlaff, it was determined that all parties would stay at Red Bull, so the next step will be to smooth things over, as revealed by Auto Motor und Sport.
Conclusion:
The drama at Red Bull seems to be settling down as Helmut Marko puts an end to the rumors of Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes. With contracts in place and issues being resolved internally, the focus can now shift back to the track for the Red Bull Racing team.
