‘Red Bull victorious but things anything but serene behind the scenes’

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen wins his 29th race in a row. The Dutchman has been in fine form since returning to Formula One in 2013. But he has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. He has been accused of using a female masseuse as a ‘favourite’ Red Bull has always been a secretive organisation that tightly controlled the flow of information to the outside world.

That applies to the parent company Red Bull GmbH in Fuchsl Am See in Austria as much as it does to the Red Bull Racing F1 team. Giving an insight into what happens inside the two companies is anathema. In the end it seems to have taken an intervention from Verstappen to keep him in his position. Verstappen is close to former F1 driver Marko, who is a contractor to Red Bull GmbH.

The Dutchman insists his relationship with Marko is no issue. A week before, he had been asked whether Horner had his full support as Red Bull team principal. Verstappen left no one in any doubt about his feelings regarding Marko. He said: “If such an important pillar falls away, that’s not good for my situation as well.

So, for me, Helmut has to stay, for sure’ Max Verstappen won his first race of the season on Sunday. Red Bull boss Christian Horner has been involved in a power struggle with team-mate Daniel Marko. Marko won the last power struggle - securing a new contract with Red Bull. VerStappen: “I always said that what is most important is that we work together as a team” Verstappen’s complaint against Horner was dismissed on Thursday.

Honda, Red Bull’s current engine partner, has asked for full clarity on the allegations. Ford, which is joining forces with the team in 2026, had also asked for more information before the complaint was dismissed. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also backed the idea of transparency from Red Bull. The US car giant has yet to comment since the allegations were made.

Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. But what it did not say was why it was dismissed. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, which Red Bull are refusing to answer. Who was the KC employed to compile the report?

Who paid them? What did the report say? What was its scope? Did it make recommendations?

How much attention did the board pay to it when they made the decision to dismiss the complaint? Jos Verstappen said he sympathised with the woman, with all that she went through, but we will see what happens. As for drawing a line under the controversy, he said: “If that’s what (Horner) wants, fine, but I don’t think it will be possible. It’s too late for Christian to say: ‘Leave me alone’ Thai owner Yoovidhya met with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen in Dubai between the Bahrain and Saudi races.

He made it clear that Horner was staying, whether the VerStappen camp liked it or not. The word in Austrian circles is that this is much bigger than an internal power play at Red Bull Racing between Horner and Marko. The FIA and commercial rights holder F1 have said little publicly about the Horner saga - to the exasperation of many senior figures within the sport. That stance is unlikely to be sustainable in the event the woman speaks out.

Given the superiority of Red Bull’s car with Verstappen behind the wheel, all this is likely to derail a championship campaign.

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