Earlier this year in February, news broke out that Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner was under investigation by Red Bull GmbH for “inappropriate behavior” towards a female employee. Ever since the season began in March, this particular controversy has slowly died down. However, according to ex-McLaren mechanic, Marc Priestley, the allegations and its consequences will rise to the surface once again.
“Stuff around Christian Horner is still bubbling away in the background. I absolutely believe it’s going to come to the surface again in a fairly big way,” said the 47-year-old on his YouTube channel. Priestley also revealed that from what he understands, there are a lot of “disgruntled personnel” within the Red Bull camp after this entire fiasco.
One such consequence that could happen from the trouble brewing within the team is Max Verstappen’s exit. Priestley has predicted a big shockwave emerging within the team once the details of the reported appeal against Horner’s acquittal come out.
After the saga against Horner intensified in March, Verstappen was trying to focus on his racing and avoid commenting on the matter. However, when rumors came out about Helmut Marko’s suspension in relation to the reported internal politics, the Dutchman was having none of it. He clearly cited that Marko’s exit could cause a “big problem” for Red Bull, indirectly hinting at leaving the team.
Since then, Verstappen has pledged his loyalty to the team again, as Red Bull retained Marko. The three-time world champion had revealed that only a “peaceful environment” within the team would make him stay. But, with a storm on the horizon, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has now tried exploiting the situation at Milton-Keynes to lure the 26-year-old away and into his team.
Christian Horner fumes as Toto Wolff looks to exploit Red Bull turmoil to poach Max Verstappen
According to The Race Wolff suggested that Verstappen wasn’t shallow enough to only stick with Red Bull because they were winning. Hinting at the inner turmoil within the team, the Austrian hinted at a possible coup to get the Dutchman to drive for the Silver Arrows as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement.
In response to Wolff’s comments, Horner blasted the 52-year-old. He said, “Mercedes are the third team behind their customers at the moment, so I would think his [Toto’s] time would be better spent perhaps focusing on the team rather than the driver market.”
Having Verstappen at the team could be a huge boost in morale and performance for the Brackley-based team. After having dominated for over eight years, Mercedes are in a dire slump since the ground-effect cars era started in 2022.
On the flip side, the 2026 engine regulation overhaul could be the ace up their sleeves that Wolff could use to actually make Verstappen jump ship.
