Max Verstappen says the latest dispute between his father and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is “not nice” and “could have been avoided”.
Jos Verstappen pulled out of a parade of historic Formula 1 cars planned at the Austrian Grand Prix after he learned Horner had tried to block him from taking part.
Max Verstappen said the row was “not nice. Not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian, not for the team.
“Of course, you know, you don’t want these things to happen.”
Jos Verstappen, who drove in 106 grands prix between 1994 and 2003, had been due to drive a 2012 title-winning Red Bull RB8 car in the parade.
But the 52-year-old decided to withdraw from the event when he learned Horner had approached a number of members of Red Bull senior management and said he did not think it was a good idea for Verstappen to be seen driving one of their cars.
Horner’s objections were over-ruled, but it was decided that images of Verstappen would not be filmed by Red Bull’s cameras or broadcast on any of its channels.
Max Verstappen said: “My dad has been quite clear about, you know, the reason behind it. And of course, I can understand his opinion on that, because at the end of the day he gets asked to drive the car, finds out that he’s not wanted to drive the car.
“Well, my dad, actually, he doesn’t care about driving the car, but he got asked and (Red Bull Austria) said: ‘Please, you know, do it for the fans, Dutch fans, blah, blah, blah.’
“Red Bull, we have a great relationship with, you know, [the] home track. So I understand.
“And on the other hand, I’m here, of course, to focus on the performance side of things. So I want a good relationship with everyone. But of course, this scenario could have been avoided.”
The dispute between Horner and Verstappen dates back to allegations of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour made against the Red Bull team principal by a female employee.
Horner has always denied the allegations, which were initially made in December last year and became public in early February, and a Red Bull internal investigation cleared him in late February.
A second investigation is ongoing after the complainant appealed.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of the season, Jos Verstappen said he believed the team would be torn apart if Horner stayed in charge.
And in May, Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey, negotiated an exit from his contract. The allegations against Horner were one of Newey’s main reasons for wanting to leave.
The 65-year-old, regarded as the greatest F1 designer in history, will be free to join another team from March next year, in time to start working on a car for the new 2026 regulations.
Jos Verstappen said at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend: “In the past few days I’ve heard from several sides that Christian Horner did everything he could to not let me drive, and otherwise to make sure that nothing would be filmed.
“Then I think: ’Say it to my face.’ It doesn’t have to be this way for me, I find it very disappointing.”
Horner said there was “no veto from my side”.
He added: “The relationship with Max has always been very good, very strong. He’s the one that’s important. I’ve never had an issue with any of our drivers’ fathers in the past.”
On Friday, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said the dispute was “a private matter between Jos and Christian, and [one] that shouldn’t really take place at all about such trivial matters as a show run.”
