"It wasn’t pleasant": Red Bull chief Helmut Marko as the Christian Horner saga continues to get uglier

Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko conceded that Christian Horner's saga dragging on during the Bahrain GP wasn't 'pleasant' but they were buoyed by the result.

The Austrian team gave an extraordinary performance during the first race of the season. The reigning three-time world champion Max Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who was in second place.

However, the team's performance was marred by the controversies surrounding team principal Christian Horner. Speaking with Sky Germany, Helmut Marko said of the situation:

"It wasn't pleasant, but we concentrated on the sport, and thank God, that worked out perfectly. We saw today how the team showed an incredible performance. The strategy, the pit stops - everything worked. We assume that our strength and cohesion will remain intact."

While commenting on the saga, Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen gave his take to Daily Mail:

“There is a tension here while he remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

Former F1 driver terms the Christian Horner saga as a 'test' for Red Bull

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher stated that the reputations of several key personnel at Red Bull are at stake amidst the ongoing drama surrounding Christian Horner.

As per Sky Germany, the former Williams F1 driver pointed out that the situation might remain the same if no one leaves. He said:

“This is still a test, the issue is not over yet. Until everything is clarified and everyone apologises or someone leaves, it is not over. It has taken up a lot of space this week, actually too much. The damage to the brand is already gigantic.”

Max Verstappen, in his post-race press conference, showed his support to the Red Bull team boss and claimed that his leadership on the 'performance' side cannot be questioned. He said (via Sky Sports):

"When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely from the performance side of things, you can't even question that. So that's what I am also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot, and also of course throughout the weekend here he is fully committed to the team.

"He's also here for the performance, of course probably a little bit distracted, but like I said before, we just focus on the performance things and that's how we all work together."