Jos Verstappen has pulled out of the Legends Parade at the Austrian GP, reportedly due to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner’s insistence. The former Benetton driver was going to drive the 2012 Red Bull car – the RB8 – around the Spielberg track. However, upon getting to know that Horner is not in favor of him driving the car, Verstappen Sr. has pulled out of the same. Now, F1 journalist Thomas Maher has shed some more light on the nuances of this latest clash between the two stalwarts.
“My understanding of the situation is that Red Bull did not seek to have Jos Verstappen pulled out of the RB8, but Christian Horner did query the organised run with GmbH”, the Planet F1 journalist stated.
[Thomas Maher] My understanding of the situation is that Red Bull did not seek to have Jos Verstappen pulled out of the RB8, but Christian Horner did query the organised run with GmbH.
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As per Maher’s article on Planet F1, Horner only inquired about the decision to have Verstappen Sr. driving the RB8 at the Red Bull ring with their parent company. Even the Dutchman’s comments suggest that Horner’s comments reflected his indirect stance against this exhibition drive.
Jos never stated that Horner explicitly asked Red Bull not to let him drive. Maher has further highlighted this and mentioned how the British boss’ query was enough of an indication to the Austrian company that he did not want Jos driving the car. Jos also got an indication of the same and chose to pull out of the Legends Parade himself.
However, the former Benetton driver has been candid on Horner’s latest shenanigans and called this indirect move “childish”. Verstappen Sr. stated, “I would have been allowed to drive in the end, but I backed out. I find this so childish of Horner, but I think it says something about him”.
Regardless, such animosity and verbal exchange is not uncommon between Horner and Verstappen Sr. Especially, ever since the “inappropriate behavior” allegations controversy against the former have been public, things have been tense between this duo.
How Jos Verstappen called for Christian Horner’s ouster from Red Bull
The allegations leveled against Christian Horner were quite serious with regard to his “coercive” behavior towards a female employee at Red Bull. Now, as the investigation about these allegations carried on in the background, Jos Verstappen voiced his stance to call out Horner as being in the wrong and how it was important for him to lose his position as the team boss.
The 52-year-old also stated how the British boss was “playing the victim” and it was detrimental to the Milton Keynes outfit. He said, “There is tension here while he [Horner] remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems.”
On this, Horner also had his replies and it became an ugly verbal tussle amid speculations of Jos trying to leverage this controversy for having his son Max Verstappen leave Red Bull. Eventually, the 26-year-old pledged his loyalty to the Austrian team after several other dramatic subplots.
However, Jos and Horner’s relationship seems to have suffered permanent damage. The latest incident of the Austrian GP Legends Parade is the perfect case in point.
