On Sunday, Red Bull's owners reportedly met to talk about the future of Christian Horner, amid the ongoing scandal involving the Formula 1 team principal.
There are rumors that Horner might be fired before the next race in Australia on 24th March.
The Horner scandal has overshadowed the start of the 2024 F1 season and the success of reigning champions Red Bull on the track.
The 50-year-old, who is the husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, Geri Halliwell, was accused of 'inappropriate behavior' by a female employee of Red Bull, but was cleared after an investigation.
Messages and pictures related to the investigation were later leaked, and the person who made the complaint has been suspended with full pay by the team. This situation doesn't seem to be going away quickly or quietly.
Max Verstappen's father, Jos, publicly called for Horner to be fired, saying that Red Bull would 'explode' if he remained. He has since reaffirmed these comments.
Now, there is speculation that Max could dramatically leave the team with which he has won the last three championships. This speculation has grown especially after he said he could not continue with Red Bull if team advisor Helmut Marko left.
Marko himself revealed that he could be suspended by the team, seemingly regarding the leaked messages and pictures. Additionally, there is a clause in Verstappen's long-term contract that allows him to leave if the 80-year-old Marko is fired.
The whole affair is overshadowing Red Bull's accomplishments on the track, where they have achieved 1-2 finishes in the first two races of the year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Despite Horner's continuous denial of the accusations and his insistence that his team is united, there is a feeling that something – or someone – has to give at this point, and that could very well end up being Horner himself.
A German publication, F1-Insider.com – which is linked to Marko – claimed that Red Bull's owners Chalerm Yoovidhya and Oliver Mintzlaff had decided to remove Horner before the Australian Grand Prix.
However, a Red Bull Racing spokesperson has denied these claims, stating: 'As Christian has said, he is grateful for the full support of the shareholders, and that remains the case.'
Yoovidhya, known to be a supporter of Horner, was at the season opener in Bahrain and was seen talking to the team boss before the race, while Mintzlaff, known to have friction with Horner, was in Saudi Arabia.
The Telegraph has reported that the two owners met in Dubai on Sunday, apparently to discuss how to proceed.
After Max Verstappen's victory in Jeddah on Saturday, Horner stated: 'It is absolutely fine with Max. He's working well within the team.
There's no tension, there's no stress. You can see how relaxed he is around the garage with everybody in the team, and that's reflecting in his performance on the track as well.
'We don’t have any problems with Max. I know there's a lot of talk, but it hasn't affected the team, and we are united as one team now.'
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