Sexual harassment claims have Formula One champs Red Bull on brink of implosion: Verstappen
The Red Bull Formula One team will “explode” if Christian Horner stays on as team principal, according to Jos Verstappen, the father of three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.
The F1 spotlight has been almost entirely on Horner in the days leading up to the new season, over his alleged behaviour towards a team employee.
āThere is tension here while he remains in position,ā Jos Verstappen told the British Daily Mail newspaper after his son won Saturdayās season-opening race in Bahrain.
āThe team is in danger of being torn apart. It canāt go on the way it is. It will explode. He (Horner) is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.ā
Responding to Verstappen Snrās comments, a Red Bull Racing spokesperson told the PA news agency on Sunday: āThere are no issues here. The team are united and we are focused on racing.ā
On Wednesday, the teamās parent company dismissed a complaint of alleged misconduct by Horner towards a team employee.
A day later during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, a file alleged to contain evidence against Horner ā including alleged WhatsApp message exchanges ā was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets.
Jos Verstappen, a former F1 driver who was Michael Schumacherās teammate when they raced at Benetton, has been pointed to as a potential source of the file by some F1 insiders, but he firmly denied it.
āThat wouldnāt make sense,ā the 51-year-old Dutchman told the Mail. āWhy would I do that when Max is doing so well here?ā
Horner has denied wrongdoing and said in a statement issued on Thursday that he would not ācomment on anonymous speculationā concerning the file.
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Reacting to the ongoing controversy, the president of Formula 1ās governing body told the Financial Times that the controversy around Horner is damaging the sport, but that the FIA wonāt conduct its own inquiry unless it receives a complaint.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said any complaint lodged with its compliance officer would be investigated but it had not received one related to Hornerās situation.
āItās damaging the sport,ā Ben Sulayem told the newspaper, which added that he was speaking Friday after a meeting with Horner. āThis is damaging on a human level.ā
With PA
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