Christian Horner fails to answer hard-hitting Max Verstappen question during evasive Sky Sports interview

Christian Horner fails to answer hard-hitting Max Verstappen question during evasive Sky Sports interview

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 09/03/2024

- 19:57

Updated: 09/03/2024

- 19:58

Christian Horner was grilled on Sky Sports about the current ongoing saga at Red Bull.

Christian Horner was unable to confirm whether he had Max Verstappen's full support as Red Bull team principal following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Red Bull finished with another one-two in Jeddah to maintain their perfect start to the season on the track.


But it's been far from plain sailing off it with Horner at the centre of continued controversy within the team.

Shortly after he was cleared of any wrongdoing by an investigation into allegations from a female employee, messages were leaked to media outlets and F1 officials purporting to be between the two of them.

Christian Horner was grilled by Sky Sports

Christian Horner was grilled by Sky Sports

GETTY

Verstappen's dad has since made it clear that he feels Horner's position at the helm is "untenable" with the three-time world champion refusing to disagree with his father's comments.

But the Dutchman caused an even bigger stir on Friday when he threatened to quit Red Bull if his close confidant Helmut Marko was forced out of the team amid reports he was at the centre of a separate investigation in the team.

Marko confirmed before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that he would be staying with the team after all, but it raised further questions on whether there is complete unity behind the scenes at the team.

When asked on Sky Sports whether he was confident of having Verstappen's support, Horner was evasive in his response.

"Obviously there's rumblings," he said.

"I'm aware of what's been said but Max is an important part of this team.

"He's our driver and he's doing a great job.

"As team principal and CEO I'm responsible for the running and operation of this team so everybody has to do their part.

"Max is doing his part and everybody else is doing their part."

Christian Horner was unable to confirm whether he has Max Verstappen's support

Christian Horner was unable to confirm whether he has Max Verstappen's support

SKYSPORTS

When asked if there was an internal battle for control of Red Bull Racing, Horner added: "No, obviously a lot is made of this stuff but we are one team.

"Nobody is bigger than the team and this team comprises across the different entities of over 1,400 people.

"Everybody has a role to play and that's from the very bottom to the very top.

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Max Verstappen threatened to quit if Helmut Marko was forced out

Max Verstappen threatened to quit if Helmut Marko was forced out

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"Without them performing, you don't achieve performances like this.

"Unfortuantely there's been a lot of speculation this weekend but once again our focus has been on track."

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