And now, Helmut Marko's turn to be under investigation at Red Bull?

It seems like a never-ending story. How can a team that is so dominant on the track threaten to implode off the track to this extent? While Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature by an employee of Red Bull At the start of the year, the Englishman was finally cleared by the independent internal investigation. The problem ? This is because possible elements of the investigation leaked to the media, since conversations supposedly exchanged between Horner and the employee in question landed in the mailboxes of around a hundred permanent members of the paddock, relaunching the affair. more beautiful.

Absolutely irresistible on the track for three seasons, the Red Bull team seems to be falling apart internally. It seems that the Austrian clan of the parent company (Mateschitz-Marko), supported by the clan Verstappen, would try to get rid of Christian Horner, who benefits from the support of the Thai clan, the majority (51%) within the brand which gives wings. Jos, Max's father, even went there in his little interview in the Daily Mail to demand Horner's departure last week.

New investigation opened at Red Bull

While we were beginning to wonder if the affair was not gradually being hushed up, the latest information from the Saudi paddock now reports an investigation opened against Helmut Marko, historic figure of the team and most faithful friend of Dietrich Mateschitz, one of the co-founders of Red Bull who died in 2022. The Austrian, according to various sources, would indeed potentially be accused of being linked to leaks in the media of certain elements linked to the investigation carried out against Christian Horner.

The Austrian himself confided to the Austrian media ORF this Friday that he was subject to a potential imminent suspension, and that he was not guaranteed to be present in Australia, without really explaining Why. A few minutes after signing the first pole position of his career in Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen was questioned about this burning news, he being loyal to Helmut Marko from the start, to whom he owes a lot.

Helmut Marko with Christian Horner and Max Verstappen. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

If he had remained neutral on the Horner file, it was not the same regarding the Marko file. “I have a lot of respect for Helmut and for what we accomplished together.”, commented the three-time world champion. “This is all going very far. And naturally, my loyalty to him is immense, I have always said it internally, to all senior managers, that it is constantly an important element in my decision-making for the future as well as within the team.”

“It is therefore very important that he stays in the team, like all the others naturally, because it is the effort of an entire team. It is very important to keep key people because I feel that if such an important pillar falls, it is not good for my situation either, and that is also what I said to the team.» The war between the two clans is definitively declared at Red Bull. We may not have finished seeing Max Verstappen's representatives discussing with Toto wolff in the next weeks…

ALSO READ > Christian Horner on the case: “Enough is enough! My family's involvement lasted too long."