Christian Horner's relationship with Jos Verstappen 'severed beyond repair' after fiery row and exit comments

Jos said over the weekend that Red Bull will 'explode' if Horner remains in his role of team principal, while also saying the Briton is 'playing the victim'.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Dutchman said: "There is tension here while he remains in position.

"The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can't go on the way it is. It will explode.

"He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems."

It was also said that Jos and Horner had a 'blazing row' after qualifying prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen, Jos' son, ended up cruising to victory with the 26-year-old finishing around 20 seconds faster than team-mate Sergio Perez.

Red Bull continue to insist they are a side united, despite the cloud that currently hangs over the team.

And the Telegraph say Jos' relationship with Horner has now been 'severed beyond repair' in the wake of the Dutchman's comments.

Verstappen is currently caught in the middle of the Red Bull civil war and there are suggestions he could leave the F1 side.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has spotted talking to Jos on several occasions in Bahrain, fuelling speculation of a potential switch come the end of the campaign.

Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2028.

There have been suggestions, however, that there's a clause in his contract that allows him to leave ahead of schedule if he wants to cut ties.

Verstappen was asked about Horner over the weekend and praised the 50-year-old, insisting his Red Bull boss was 'fully committed' to the team.

"I speak to Christian a lot, and also throughout the weekend here, he’s fully committed to the team, he’s also here for the performance, of course, probably a little bit distracted," he said.

“But, as I said before, we just focus on the performance side of things, and that’s how we all work together."

Verstappen also reacted after winning the race in the Middle East, with the Dutchman admitting the event went 'better than expected'.

“It’s unbelievable. I think today went even better than expected," he said.

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"I think the car was really nice to drive, on every [tyre] compound I think we had a lot of pace.

“It was just super enjoyable to drive today, we really stayed out of trouble and it’s a great start to the year – it couldn’t have been better.

“It’s always very special to have these kind of days because they don’t happen that often, that it just all goes perfect, you are at one with the car and everything just feels great.”

Mercedes chief Wolff, meanwhile, intriguingly opted to hail Verstappen following his triumph.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Wolff admitted when asked if Verstappen could win every race this season.

“Look, today, I mean you just need to acknowledge his performance levels are really very strong.

“I think today Max is, he’s not in a different league, he’s in a different galaxy. The performance is extraordinary.”