Red Bull backing Christian Horner over Max Verstappen amid Dutch driver's threats to leave the team: Reports

Recent reports suggest that Red Bull seniors would support team principal Christian Horner over their star F1 driver Max Verstappen amid the ongoing issues in the team.

In February this year, Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee. The team's parent company initiated an internal investigation into the Briton and eventually cleared him of all charges. However, the situation kept worsening after Horner's conversations with the employee were leaked through an anonymous email.

Amid the entire investigation fiasco, several rumors emerged of Max Verstappen potentially leaving the defending world champions. The speculations flared even more after his father Jos Verstappen openly criticized Horner and even had a meeting with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

Helmut Marko was also under investigation by the team, causing rumors about his exit as well. This triggered Verstappen to support Marko and declare that he could depart from the team if the 80-year-old was removed. The Dutch driver's current long-term contract with the team has a specific exit clause that allows him to leave if the team's senior advisor departs.

According to reports by the Mirror, Christian Horner was backed by several company shareholders, including Red Bull CEOs Franz Watzlawick and Oliver Mintzlaff, and even Thai shareholder Chalerm Yoodivhya. The report also claimed that if Verstappen decided to leave due to Horner's investigation chaos, they would not stop supporting the team principal and let the multiple-time world champion go.

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Max Verstappen publicly supports Helmut Marko amid Red Bull investigation fiasco

Max Verstappen has openly supported Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, saying his presence on the team is extremely important. The Dutch driver also hinted that he could leave if Marko is removed from the team's operations.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Verstappen said:

"My loyalty in general to Red Bull, but also to him, after all for what he has done for me goes very far. I've always said, especially after Dietrich's passing, with everyone in the team, that I find it really important that we keep the key team together because that's how we have performed really well and that's how we will perform really well in the future."

"They know that. For me, Helmut is a very key factor in that and he has to stay for me, for sure," he added.

Helmut Marko has been part of the Red Bull family since before they entered F1 as a team. He is the head of the team's driver development program and has helped several drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, etc., enter the sport and prove their talent.