11 March 2024 , 07:44
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Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner has admitted Max Verstappen could quit the team, despite the three-time Formula 1 world champion being under contract until 2028.
Despite Verstappen sealing another impressive win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull's off-track problems have showed no signs of going away. After Verstappen's mentor Helmut Marko revealed he could be suspended by Red Bull, the Dutchman threatened to leave.
Marko has since met with Red Bull's managing director Oliver Mintzlaff and told reporters he will "carry on" in his role as an advisor, but doubts remain about Verstappen's future. And when asked about the possibility of him leaving, Horner said Red Bull would not force Verstappen to see out his contract if he did not want to be there.
"It's like anything in life, you can't force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper," Horner said. "If somebody didn't want to be in this team, then we're not going to force somebody against their will to be here.
"That applies whether it is a machine operator or a designer or someone in one of the support functions that runs through the business." However, Horner has insisted there are no cracks in his personal relationship with the 26-year-old, despite his father Jos publicly questioning Horner's position.
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"It can't go on the way it is," Jos said during the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month when asked about accusations of inappropriate behaviour levelled at Horner by a female colleague. "It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems."
Horner has been cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent investigation, but the scandal continues to loom large over the team. And while Max has defended his father's comments, Horner claims there is "no tension" between him and his star driver.
Verstappen threatened to quit Red Bull last week (Clive Rose/Getty Images)"It is absolutely fine with Max," the 50-year-old said. "He's working well within the team. There's no tension, there's no stress. You can see how relaxed he is around the garage with everybody in the team and that's translating to his performance on track as well.
"So we don't see any issues with Max. I'm aware of all that noise, but it hasn't distracted the team from the job, and we are one team now." Verstappen will be back on the track at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne next weekend, looking to make it three wins from three.
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