Formula One icon Martin Brundle has questioned if the war of words between Max Verstappen’s father and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is affecting the superstar driver’s performances.
Verstappen remains on track for a fourth-straight drivers’ championship but finished fifth at the Austrian Grand Prix as a late collision with Lando Norris derailed his race.
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It meant the Dutchman — who has been widely blamed for the incident — failed to win a grand prix for the fourth time this season from 11 races.
It’s a stark contrast from Verstappen’s 2023 campaign in which he won all but three races from 22 on the calendar.
However, this is the first season when tension between Verstappen’s father, Jos, and Horner has seriously escalated.
And Brundle, who described Verstappen as “one of the very best I’ve ever witnessed in 40 years”, was concerned the feud between his old man and his Red Bull boss has got the 26-year-old reverting back to his old ways.
“What I found alarming is that after the contact and as they were both limping along, Verstappen clearly tried to impede and collect Norris if he could,” Brundle wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
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“Verstappen would get a 10-second penalty for the turn three contact, but such was his pace thereafter on fresh tyres it mattered not, as he recovered to fifth place, actually increasing his championship lead to the angst of many.
“In commentary, and in these columns, I’ve waxed lyrical about Max’s talent, and I stand by that, he’s one of the very best I’ve ever witnessed in 40 years. I’ve also said that he’s calmed down, matured, and plays more the percentage game with three championships in his pocket.
“But that appears to have been a thin veneer as this race was very much Max 1.0, with his default driving tactics and denials resurfacing.
“I’m making no excuses for him, but I do wonder if the ridiculous spat between his father Jos and team boss Christian Horner has finally surfaced on track for him.
“And to hear the Red Bull team on the radio after the race telling him it was all Norris’s fault was a difficult listen, it damages their credibility all round.”
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Verstappen senior was back in the paddock for the first time since Bahrain, where he said the team was in danger of being “torn apart” if Horner kept his job following allegations of controlling behaviour by a female member of staff.
Horner had earlier irked Verstappen senior who claimed he had been prevented from taking part in a Red Bull Legends Parade at the Red Bull ring circuit, driving the team’s 2012 car in which Sebastian Vettel won his third consecutive title.
He said Horner had barred any filming, a decision that caused him to withdraw.
“How childish can you be,” he told Formule1.nl.
“There was going to be filming, for example, also with a drone, but Horner didn’t want me to be filmed.
“I’m completely finished with Horner. It’s like a kindergarten here. I would have been allowed to ride in the end, but I backed out. I find this so childish of Horner, but I think it says something about him.”
Horner retorted, saying: “Look, I’ve been made aware. The legends parade is something that is organised by the circuit and there was no veto from my side or anything like that.
“I’m sure the legends will be in action later.”
