Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen set to miss the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Reports

Recent reports claim that Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, will not attend the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP after comments he made against Red Bull's Christian Horner.

Christian Horner was recently accused of inappropriate behavior by a Red Bull Racing female employee. The team's parent company initiated an internal investigation on Horner, which concluded with him being cleared of all charges. After the verdict, an anonymous email was sent to several journalists containing alleged conversations between the Briton and the female employee. This email sparked even more debate and controversy regarding the case.

With Red Bull and Christian Horner temporarily entwined in controversy at the start of the 2024 F1 season, Max Verstappen's father gave his views on the matter. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he stated that the team would be 'torn apart' if Horner remained at the team principal post for long. He said, via Daily Mail:

"There is tension here while [Horner] 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."

Following the comments, ESPN reported that their sources claimed Jos Verstappen would not be attending the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.

Jos Verstappen had famously been heavily involved in his son's racing career and has attended almost every race that his son has taken part in since joining the sport.

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Max Verstappen shares his views on Christian Horner amid investigation fiasco

Max Verstappen recently praised Red Bull boss Christian Horner for improving the overall performance of the team. However, the Dutch driver made no comments on the accusations made against the Briton as well as the internal investigation. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

"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 added:

"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."

Verstappen felt that it was not his business to comment on Horner's matter. He stated that the team's main focus should be on the season ahead. He said:

"From my side, and I think what I can see also from the mechanics and engineers, we are fully focused on the car and the performance during the weekend."

He added:

"That's how it should be, I think, and that's what we continue to do because it's not our business, we're not particularly involved in that. We are paid to do our job and that's what we are doing and that's also what we love doing, so that's what we focus on," Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen managed to win the 2024 F1 season opener at Bahrain with a comfortable lead. His teammate Sergio Perez finished second, giving Red Bull a perfect 1-2 finish.