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Max (l.) and Jos Verstappen (on February 29th in Bahrain)
Photo: David Davies / dpa
Things are going well for Red Bull on the racetrack. They recently celebrated a double victory in Bahrain.
Internally, however, hardly anyone in the successful Formula One team feels like celebrating.
The affair surrounding team boss Christian Horner still concerns everyone involved.
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has defended his father Jos in the debate about Horner's future at Red Bull.
Jos Verstappen is definitely “not a liar,” emphasized the Dutchman on Wednesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen Senior recently called for the controversial Horner to resign, otherwise the reigning world champion's racing team could plunge into chaos.
»The team is in danger of being torn apart.
"It can't go on like this, it's going to explode," Jos Verstappen told the English Daily Mail.
Horner plays “the victim, even though he is the one causing the problems.”
According to the Daily Mail, Horner assumes that Jos Verstappen has started a campaign to force him out of office.
The Dutchman rejected this.
»That wouldn't make any sense.
Why would I do that when Max is doing so well here?”
In Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen once again emphasized the special relationship with his father, with whom he speaks on the phone “every day”.
Nevertheless, his statements about Horner have not been an issue in the past few days.
"I didn't ask him about it," said Verstappen: "My father is very open-hearted, he's not a liar, that's for sure."
Sporting success at the start of the season
For weeks there have been allegations from a Red Bull employee that Horner behaved "inappropriately" towards her.
According to Red Bull, the result of an extensive internal investigation by an investigative lawyer is that there will be no consequences.
However, the competition demanded an independent review by the world association FIA and Formula 1. In addition, an anonymous sender sent an email to numerous representatives of the FIA, Formula 1 and reporting media.
There is a link to files that allegedly showed information about the case.
Authenticity cannot be confirmed.
Verstappen recently won three world championship titles in a row, and on Saturday he also confidently won the season opener in Bahrain.
Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull finished second.
The appearance of Horner's wife, Geri Halliwell, in the paddock also caused a stir.
The former Spice Girl was at her husband's side throughout race day, for the first time since the allegations became known.
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