Jos Verstappen’s Inability to Keep His ‘Mouth Shut’ Would Harm Max Verstappen, Says Guenther Steiner

Tanish Chachra | 08/10/2024
Jos Verstappen’s Inability to Keep His ‘Mouth Shut’ Would Harm Max Verstappen, Says Guenther Steiner

Jos Verstappen has been highly critical of Christian Horner this year. From the alleged sexual harassment controversy to Adrian Newey’s exit, Jos has had Horner as his target. However, Guenther Steiner sees this as a problem and claims that the former F1 driver not keeping mum could harm his son Max.

“We know that when Jos is frustrated, he can’t keep his mouth shut. I’m not criticizing him for that, but I don’t know if it’s the best thing for his son,” said Steiner as per GPBlog.

At the same time, he admitted that he is unaware of the internal politics at Red Bull. Thus, he couldn’t point out who’s right or wrong, but he believes Jos is an “intelligent man”, and would be knowing the “consequences of his statement.”

Horner and Jos reportedly never had a good relationship. However, when Horner came under investigation for alleged inappropriate behavior toward a Red Bull employee, tensions escalated. Jos even claimed that Horner would be the reason for Red Bull’s downfall.

Steiner advised both parties to resolve their conflict by arranging a meeting. The former Haas boss believes this would better support Max in his bid to win a fourth World Championship, for which he currently leads second-placed Lando Norris by 52 points.

While Jos and Horner were caught up in their dispute, it was Max who found it challenging to navigate the situation diplomatically. The Red Bull star defended his father but also described the entire episode as ‘not nice.’

The two camps at Red Bull

The persistent disagreements between Horner and Jos suggest that Red Bull has been divided into two camps. On one side are the Verstappens and Helmut Marko, while on the other stand Christian Horner and his loyalists.

There were also murmurs of Marko being sacked from Red Bull on Horner’s whim. However, Max standing up for Marko publicly possibly prevented that event.

It’s speculated that Horner is trying to strengthen his position within the team by getting closer to the Yoovidhya family- majority owners of Red Bull. Reports indicate that Horner met with Max’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, in March; however, Jos’ continuous jabs might have undermined those efforts.

With the title fight intensifying and only six races left, the rivalry between the two factions may cool temporarily. However, it could reignite dramatically if Max were to lose the championship.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Christian Horner Jos Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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