The Red Bull internal drama has reignited on the occasion of their home race weekend in Austria. While Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner allegedly had major differences when the season kicked off in Bahrain, things seemed to have cooled off since then. However, at the Austrian GP, De Telegraaf reports that Horner has tried to snatch a prestigious opportunity from Verstappen Sr. which was going to be part of the Legends Parade at Spielberg.
Apparently, Jos Verstappen was going to drive a few laps in the 2012 Red Bull car – the RB8 around the Red Bull ring. However, reports suggest that Horner has pulled his strings to take this drive away from the 52-year-old.
Verstappen Sr. commented, “In the past few days I’ve heard from several sides that Christian Horner did everything he could to not let me drive. And otherwise to make sure that nothing would be filmed. Then I think: say it to my face. It doesn’t have to be this way for me, I find it very disappointing”.
It was the Austrian stakeholders of Red Bull who had asked Jos to participate in this Legends Parade. However, the former Benetton driver is now not going to drive the RB8 around Spielberg as the Milton Keynes outfit gear up for an exciting Grand Prix weekend.
Jos Verstappen has withdrawn from driving the RB8 at Spielberg for the Legends Parade event
Jos: “Heard from several sources that Christian Horner did everything he could not to let me drive. Then I thought: say it to my face. I find it very disappointing.”
[@ErikvHaren] https://t.co/4wtAAp28tm
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 28, 2024
Meanwhile, drivers like David Coulthard, Gerhard Berger, Johnny Herbert, and two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi will still take part in this Legends Parade. Now, reports say that Horner got a complete surprise about this plan of Jos Verstappen driving the RB8.
However, with the amount of bad exchanges this duo has had in 2024, it seems like another unpleasant conversation may unfold later on between Horner and Verstappen Sr.
The Christian Horner v Jos Verstappen tussle
When Christian Horner was dealing with the inappropriate behavior allegations during this year’s pre-season, there was a lot of uncertainty around his position as the team principal at Red Bull. Given the severity of the allegations, Max Verstappen’s camp led by his father Jos were certainly voicing for strict action against Horner to safeguard the team’s interests.
Verstappen Sr. highlighted how Red Bull could implode courtesy of the allegations against Horner. He also cited how the British boss was “playing the victim”, as the independent investigation against him progressed further.
Later on, Horner too commented as the independent barrister cleared him of any wrongdoing and the 50-year-old retained his job as team boss at Red Bull. Still, Verstappen Sr. had voiced his stance on how he sympathized with the woman employee who complained against Horner.
He also cited how it was “too late” for the Red Bull boss to get away from the controversy despite getting the clean chit.
