Red Bull may be dominating on track, but things are far from good behind closed doors at the Austrian team. After some allegations came up against team principal Christian Horner, things have got ugly for the Milton Keynes team and its parent company in Austria. There have been reports of power struggles with two factions of shareholders backing different sides. Key figures of the team such as Horner, Helmut Marko, and Max Verstappen are willingly or unwillingly at the center of all this chaos. Upon seeing this, former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat does not feel surprised and in fact has jokingly offered to come back to Red Bull, amid such chaos!
According to Formule1.nl, Kvyat said, “It seems to be a bit chaotic. Personally, I am not surprised about that. It looks like they want to bring back old acquaintances. So if anyone wants to reach me; they still have my phone number”.
Daniil Kvyat had been in the Red Bull stable since the 2010s and has driven for both of Red Bull’s teams intermittently. The Russian driver was at Red Bull Racing in 2015-16, before Max Verstappen replaced him midway in 2016.
However, the Red Bull Racing setup has become a lot more complex since Kvyat’s racing days back then. The “inappropriate behavior” allegations against Horner were the latest and serious complication. While the Austrian team has multiple sporting dilemmas too such as deciding on Sergio Perez’s future; this off-track drama around Horner has unraveled badly for the team’s image.
Red Bull have lost a lot of goodwill as a brand and as an F1 team, as people have criticized retaining Horner as the team principal and “dismissing the grievances” against him.
How the entire saga has unfolded, it is evident that there is a power struggle within the team, with reports suggesting that the majority shareholders of Red Bull support the 50-year-old team principal. Meanwhile, some reports suggest that Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen are not in Horner’s favor, as a result of this situation.
The possible collapse of Red Bull amid off-track controversies
Even Daniil Kvyat acknowledged that the power struggle is quite evident from what everyone is seeing from the outside. Around the Saudi Arabian GP, reports came out that Red Bull would want to suspend Helmut Marko. This was a big deal, given how Max Verstappen holds Marko in high regard and has a close relationship with the 80-year-old.
After Verstappen gave a stern response that he would consider his future, if Marko is gone; the Austrian brand had to scramble to make things right. For a few days, things seemed tense that Marko’s rumored suspension could also lead the Dutchman to leave the Milton Keynes team prematurely.
Taking advantage of this internal power struggle situation at Red Bull, Toto Wolff also made comments on being willing to take both Marko and Verstappen at Mercedes. Eventually, Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff had a meeting with Helmut Marko to cement his retention.
So, that sorted things out for Marko and Verstappen’s reported faction amid the internal chaos at the team around Horner’s position. Even Verstappen clarified later that he would want to see out his long-term contract till the end of 2028. Besides, the three-time champion has little reason to move to any other team, leaving his champion outfit.
As for Kvyat, would Red Bull consider his name as a replacement in their setup? Seems like a very long shot. While Sergio Perez is on uncertain grounds with his last year of contract, he is performing well so far. So, Kyvat may have to look at one of the V-CARB seats, but even Liam Lawson is a driver they would prefer over the Russian driver.
