by VALERIO BARRETTA
Verstappen out of Red Bull, a window opens
The contract that binds Max Verstappen at Red Bull until 2028 he will cover the Dutchman with gold, who reciprocates with performances like a true champion on the track. The idyll between the two parties, however, risks crumbling in the face of the power struggle that Red Bull has been experiencing for months, and which has only recently emerged to the attention of the general public in all its gravity.
In the clash between team principal Chris Horner (supported by owner Chalerm Yoovidhya) and the “Austrian clan” made up of Helmut Marko, Oliver Mintzlaff and Mark Mateschitz, the Verstappen family openly sided with the latter. But, clearly, Super Max cannot remain if the climate within the team remains this way.
According to what he reported F1-Insider, In Verstappen's contract there would be an early exit clause linked to Marko, and which would free up #1 if the Austrian left Red Bull. Verstappen is very close to the figure of Marko, who discovered him and for whom he exposed himself when many in Red Bull (and Horner was also among them) looked at Max as an immature driver, incapable of withstanding the pressure of a great team at just 19 years old.
History then demonstrated that Marko's bet was right. From that moment on, the relationship of trust between the Red Bull advisor and the three-time world champion became unbreakable, to the point that it was considered essential to include this Marko-clause in the contract signed in March 2022.
Horner, therefore, knows well that fighting Marko means fighting Verstappen. And if it is true that Adrian Newey has also joined the Austrians, Horner is increasingly alone. Even if he won the battle, he would do so with huge losses, and with the strongest driver on the planet ready to settle down among his rivals: Jos Verstappen certainly spoke with Mercedes and Toto Wolff about a market scenario which at this point is not at all to be excluded and would detonate the 2025 season right from the start.
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