Why Jos Verstappen is going nowhere despite being ‘finished’ with Christian Horner

Jos Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Max Verstappen said his father Jos has always been there for him and “that will never change”, despite a fresh bust-up with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

An internal investigation into Horner’s behaviour – carried out by Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH following allegations from a fellow employee – was the catalyst for initial tension between Horner and Jos. The case brought against Horner was dismissed, but Jos still called for him to leave the team.

Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen will stick together

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

While that conflict had seemingly cooled in recent months, an incident in the lead-up to the Austrian Grand Prix provided a fresh spark.

Jos withdrew from the Legends Parade which he was due to be part of, having been set to drive Sebastian Vettel’s 2012 title-winning RB8. Jos said he heard that Horner had “done everything to not let me drive” and block any filming, adding that he was “completely finished” with Horner as a result.

Horner would drive the RB8 at Silverstone in preparation for replacing Vettel in Red Bull’s 20th anniversary celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

But, Max has put a swift stop to any idea that Jos could drift away from the F1 scene, Max assuring that while his dad is not at every round these days, the fact that he is there for him “will never change”.

“For sure,” Max told the Daily Mail to the notion that his father is going nowhere.

“He’s not coming to every single Grand Prix nowadays, naturally, because of having a family and racing himself in rallying.

“We are a family. He’s always been there for me and that will never change.”

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All this comes at a time where speculation of a future move to Mercedes for Max continues to bubble away, though team boss Toto Wolff, who has made it clear that he would “love” to sign the three-time World Champion, has said he should not consider a move until Mercedes show they can win consistently again.

The eight-time Constructors’ Champions have now claimed back-to-back wins, George Russell pouncing in Austria after Verstappen and Lando Norris tangled in combat for the win, but Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix on pure pace, after Russell had headed a Mercedes front-row lockout.

“I think we still need to look at ourselves and say: ‘What can we do in order to have a car that is able to race with these two at the front and do it more regularly?’” Wolff told media including PlanetF1.com.

“And I think this is a moment where we can say that we can be a harbour port or destination for the best drivers, including Max.

“But we’re not there yet, so if I was him I wouldn’t be considering such a move. Yet.”

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