11 March 2024 , 10:16
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Red Bull have stressed that Christian Horner retains their full support despite rumours that he could be dismissed.
The Austrian constructors’ team principal has been under severe pressure over the last few weeks. Horner was at the heart of an investigation for alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’ but was eventually cleared.
The 50-year-old denied all of the allegations put towards him, but his future was then put in fresh doubt after messages purported to be between Horner and a female colleague were leaked to the media. As it stands, Horner retains the role that he has held since 2005.
There were suggestions that majority owner Chalerm Yoodivhya could move to remove Horner from his position ahead of the Australian GP. According to F1-Insider, prominent Red Bull figures Mark Mateschitz and Oliver Mintzlaff were also considering sacking him.
However, it appears that Horner is not going anywhere. A statement from a Red Bull spokesperson said: “As Christian has said, he is grateful for the full support of the shareholders and that remains the case."
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Despite Horner remaining in situ, the chaos behind the scenes continues to rumble on. Long-time advisor Helmut Marko recently claimed that he could be suspended by the team.
The future of reigning world champion Max Verstappen has also been put into severe doubt. His father Jos and Horner have been involved in a bitter spat - the former questioning Horner's position.
Christian Horner celebrates with Max Verstappen after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix (Getty Images)Will Red Bull win the F1 title this season? Share your predictions in the comments below
Elsewhere, Verstappen also claimed that his future with Red Bull is intertwined with Marko. Horner was asked about the Dutchman’s long-term commitment and hinted that Verstappen would not be forced to stay if he wanted to leave.
“It’s like anything in life, you can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper,” he 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.”
Horner added: “It is absolutely fine with Max. 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.”
Despite the ongoing issues, Red Bull have enjoyed an excellent start to the season on the track. Verstappen won in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with teammate Sergio Perez runner up on both occasions.
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