On Sunday, the new 2024 Formula One season started predictably, and exactly how the 2023 season played out, with a dominant Max Verstappen victory. But there’s another storyline of import.
The Red Bull Racing team dominated the 2023 F1 season with 21 victories from the 22 races, with Verstappen winning 19 on his way to a third consecutive World Championship. From the opening evidence in last weekend’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, the 2024 season looks like a repeat as Red Bull secured a one-two finish with Verstappen comfortably winning from teammate Sergio Perez in 2nd place.
However, may their on-track dominance be threatened by the off-track controversy threatening to tear the team apart? Over the past few weeks, the well-publicized internal investigation into team principal Christian Horner and his ‘inappropriate conduct’ towards a female team member has created plenty of headlines and discussion throughout Formula One.
If Red Bull Racing thought the announcement of the investigation being completed and its findings that Christian Horner committed no offense would be the end of the matter, this was massively mistaken.
Since the investigation outcome was announced, evidence reported to be from the case has been released to the media from an “unknown Red Bull team source.” To further fuel the flames, Jos Verstappen, Max’s father and a highly influential figure in his sons’ career, told Dutch media that the Christian Horner investigation is “tearing the team apart.”
How much, if any, impact this controversy will have on Red Bull’s on-track performance remains to be seen. However, it cannot be understated how much of an impact Christian Horner has on the team.
Horner has been the team principal since Red Bull first joined the Formula One grid in 2005, and he has led the team to seven drivers and six constructors World Titles. Christian Horner is the key to bringing chief car designer Adrian Newey to the team. Newey’s genius car designs are the key reason for Red Bull’s ascent to the sport’s top.
Despite Horner’s positive impact, it is no secret that the team has not been harmonious over the past few years. Regular media reports have shown that Christian Horner and Red Bull director Helmut Marko do not see eye-to-eye. Since Dietrich Materschitz died in 2022, the Marko and Horner relationship is rumored to have deteriorated entirely. Materschitz co-founded Red Bull and owned nearly a half stake in Red Bull GmbH.
It is widely suspected that the investigation into Christian Horner is just part of the ongoing internal political battle to control Red Bull Racing, with Helmut Marko wanting complete control over team matters.
Max Verstappen is seen as a critical piece to the battle as he is one person the team cannot afford to lose. If Verstappen were to pick a side in the Marko and Horner battle, it would be a significant blow to the other. But so far, Verstappen has made no comments and publicly stayed neutral on the issue. However, when asked on multiple occasions in Bahrain, may his refusal to publicly back Christian Horner have said more than words spoken?
From the on-track evidence in Bahrain, any off-track internal battles within Red Bull Racing have little effect on car performance. If anything, Red Bull’s dominance may have widened against the rest of the field. That said, ongoing internal fighting could significantly impact the future.
Red Bull must address off-track issues and resolve the longer-term futures of the principles involved. It seems to this analyst that it will be very difficult for Horner, Marko, and Verstappen to co-exist. The dominant question is this: What is best for Red Bull? To politicize the answer threatens what the team has worked diligently to create — Red Bull’s dominance of Formula One racing.
