Red Bull war erupts again: What caused the escalation?

A lot has changed behind the scenes at Red Bull Racing since the death of Mateschitz, who passed away at the end of 2022. Max Verstappen will then have just become world champion for the second time, while Red Bull Racing will also grab their first constructors' world title not much later. Despite the success, however, a lot is changing behind the scenes.

Mateschitz was the driving force behind Red Bull's Formula 1 teams for many years. With Helmut Marko as his loyal right-hand man, together they rocked F1 by winning the 2010-2013 and 2021 world titles as Red Bull.

Christian Horner is Red Bull Racing's team principal appointed by the duo, but in practice Marko has been setting the pace for years. Marko is the head of the Junior Team, but decides on much more. Marko decides which driver is in which Red Bull team and, most importantly, when it is time for a driver to leave.

It creates a bond between Marko and the Verstappen family. Marko, who is as straightforward as the Dutch, immediately gives Max a chance in F1 in 2015 and also promotes Verstappen to Red Bull Racing. When things take a turn for the worse for Verstappen in early 2018, Marko is backing and supporting him. Max Verstappen does not call Marko his F1 father for nothing.

The death of Dietrich Mateschitz

Mateschitz's death, however, changes some of the relationships within Red Bull. Red Bull is divided into an Austrian and a Thai branch. The Thai branch has kept a low profile for years. Despite Chalerm Yoovidhya being the major shareholder with 51%, Mateschitz has a special right to make all sporting decisions within the company. That right expired with Mateschitz's death. Since the death, the power for sporting decisions has been in the hands of the Thai.

The shifting of that power has caused turmoil in the background. Yoovidhya has increasingly come into focus and seems to get along particularly well with Christian Horner. Horner seems increasingly in control as a result. However high Helmut Marko jumps, if the Thai does not agree, it will not go ahead.

In 2023 was when news first came out that things were rumbling behind the scenes. Horner then tried to get Marko out of Red Bull Racing. Horner did not get that done, as Max Verstappen defended the Austrian. If you get to Marko, you get to Max. If Horner again tries to suspend Marko in 2024, Verstappen again backs him. That time not only behind the scenes, but also while talking publically to the press. If Marko leaves: then Max will also leave Red Bull Racing.

And so Horner, who would have liked to get rid of Marko, is still stuck with the Austrian. Marko can be present at every Grand Prix, still has control of the junior team on behalf of Red Bull and is available to many reporters. By being constantly available to journalists, there are also plenty of times to tell his opinion.

Marko does so regularly. Most recently about Daniel Ricciardo. The driver who was brought back to Red Bull by Christian Horner, given a spot at Visa Cash App RB and, at the expense of Red Bull talent Liam Lawson, is still in that car.

The bond between Verstappen and Marko

Marko, however, is not the only one against whom Horner has to fight publicly. Indeed, it is also clear which side camp Verstappen is on. Max Verstappen has publicly declared his support for Helmut Marko and logically keeps a low profile about his team principal. However, Verstappen rarely speaks very positively about Horner since everything that has happened.

And that is not surprising, as his father Jos Verstappen is at odds with Horner. Since Horner was investigated for alleged transgressive behaviour, Jos Verstappen has spoken out about Horner on several occasions. Jos was of the opinion that Horner should resign and made that known publicly.

Since the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, there had been a ceasefire between the parties. Jos Verstappen, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner all seemed to understand that the team's performance would not improve if they continued to fight each other. Until the Austrian Grand Prix, that was the case.

On Friday morning, the bomb burst again when Jos Verstappen lashed out at Christian Horner. Verstappen was to take part in the Legends Parade at the Red Bull Ring. Jos would be in action in a Red Bull Racing car, the RB8. Organised by Red Bull and the Red Bull Ring. Jos was invited, but Christian Horner didn't know anything yet.

According to Jos, Horner then did everything possible behind the scenes to keep Jos from driving. Or if Jos did take part, he wanted that Max Verstappen's father would stay out of the picture. When Jos was told this, he thanked for the ride in the F1 car and let the media know what had happened.

There is no denying within Red Bull that Horner was certainly not in favour of Jos Verstappen giving a demo on behalf of the team - and his clear words were used in doing so. But at the same time, Horner does not have the power to single-handedly remove Verstappen from participating in the demo, the message is.

Jos Verstappen and Horner argue

At the press conference, Horner was naturally asked about it again. Steam came out of Horner's ears after Jos' statements. Horner claimed he had never had problems with a driver before, let alone a driver's father. "Whatever Jos's issues are, I've really got nothing to comment on."

Yet Horner also did not fail himself to take some jabs at the Dutchman and others. Especially to Mercedes, the team that have made it publicly known that they hope to profit from the turmoil at Red Bull Racing. The Germans would love to bring Max to Mercedes, but Horner wants nothing to do with that. Horner even joked: "I guess Jos is available."

It was not the first time and probably not the last time the two camps have clashed. There is too much bad blood. Horner would prefer to get rid of Marko, but knows he would then lose the best driver in F1. Verstappen's camp will look at other teams, but knows that Red Bull still have a championship-winning car at the moment. Where else do you also have that chance? Mercedes don't seem to be good enough for that right now.

And so the two sides are still stuck with each other. A marriage that everyone already knows is finite, the only question is when. Max Verstappen himself indicated that he will stay for Red Bull through 2025. What happens after that is far from certain, despite that his contract runs through 2028.