To understand the root cause of the bloody war raging at Red Bull, we have to go back to October 2022; until the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of the team.
Mateschitz's death and the power vacuum it created have inexorably led to what we are experiencing today; to the vicious battle between team boss Christian Horner on the one hand, and Helmut Marko, the eighty-year-old motorsport advisor of Red Bull, and Jos Verstappen, father of three-time world champion Max Verstappen, on the other.
For years Mateschitz reigned supreme. Although he only owned 49 percent of the Red Bull empire, compared to the Thai's 51 percent, he was effectively the most important man and his word was final. The racing team was his baby. Marko, Mateschitz's friend and confidant, was the intermediary between Horner and Salzburg.
After his death, Red Bull GmbH created a new management structure, with three CEOs effectively running the company. The sporting side fell to Oliver Mintzlaff. But almost immediately, cracks began to appear in the previously strong working relationship between Milton Keynes and Austria.
There was tension about a possible collaboration with Porsche, which would have given the German manufacturer a 50 percent stake in the team. Horner was against it, as was Marko. Then there were tensions over a title sponsorship for Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri involving the Visa and Hugo brands.
From the outside looking in, the relationship with Marko started to deteriorate in 2023. Sources suggest that the Austrian would have become increasingly redundant without his friend Mateschitz.
But things really turned sour after Marko blamed Sergio Perez's fluctuating form last season on his 'cultural heritage'. Marko received a written warning from Red Bull Austria and was forced to apologize publicly. More importantly, according to those close to him, he felt that Horner did not support him enough in public.
Anyway, stories started to emerge about a 'power struggle' between Horner and Marko, between Milton Keynes and Austria, with Verstappen and his father Jos siding behind Marko. Horner was accused of advocating for Marko's removal, something he denied.
The story continues
It's unclear exactly when the "get-out clause" was added to Verstappen's contract - the mysterious addendum that only recently came to light, which would allow Verstappen to walk if Marko were ever to leave - but it's believed to be around this time been.
Incredibly, considering he is both team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, it is believed Horner was unaware of the clause's addition. Telegraph Sport has been told that Marko added it himself, as director of the company, without anyone from Red Bull Racing or Group knowing. Red Bull declined to comment on whether this was true.
In any case, with the battle lines drawn and paranoia beginning to rise, the impetus for the chaos of recent weeks came. Did Horner's accuser go to Austria of his own accord to make these allegations of inappropriate behavior against him? Was she induced to do this by a third party? That remains unclear. Just like the nature of the relationship between the prosecutor and Verstappen's father.
Telegraph Sport has spoken to multiple witnesses who claim they saw Horner's accuser kissing him during the Red Bull victory party after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on board a yacht.
One thing is clear: the allegations against Horner were potentially a smoking gun. The Austrian faction was reportedly keen to get rid of Horner. They thought it would be cut and dry. But they did not count on Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai majority shareholder of Red Bull (51 percent), to support the team boss and demand a full investigation.
It remains unclear why Horner was not suspended at this time. It is known that he was told in early January that an external specialist lawyer was being appointed to investigate the allegations. Again, why that attorney's identity cannot be shared in the interest of transparency is unclear. But that was intended as an internal investigation and quickly became a public pile-on when the investigation was made public on February 5 by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
Who leaked it? That could be part of a secondary investigation which it has become clear is now being conducted by Red Bull GmbH. But if the intention was to increase public pressure on the private pressure already being exerted on Horner, it worked.
As the anonymous KC continued his investigation - compiling his more than hundred-page report based on more than sixty hours of interviews with multiple witnesses - Horner faced enormous media attention, which only increased further when De Telegraaf announced the day subsequently published even more accusations. Red Bull season launch.
Once again the intention seemed to be to humiliate Horner and further increase the pressure on Red Bull GmbH.
If there was any doubt about waging a 'dirty war', it completely disappeared the day after Red Bull's parent company announced on February 28 that the complaint case against Horner had been dismissed. A huge amount of flirtatious, sometimes lewd WhatsApp messages, allegedly between Horner and his accuser, were leaked to journalists and paddock figures via anonymous email.
Suddenly the battle was fought openly.
We now know that Horner's prosecutor has been suspended as a direct result of the investigation. According to the BBC, her concerns about the accuracy and consistency of her evidence were given as an explanation.
But by now the investigation was almost secondary to the public battle raging at the top of Red Bull Racing.
Jos Verstappen and Horner had a blazing row in Bahrain, with Verstappen snr reportedly telling the Red Bull director that he knew Horner suspected him of being behind the leaks, something Verstappen snr vehemently denied.
The next day, after Horner's ex-Spice Girl wife Geri and Yoovidhya showed up to support Horner in the season-opening race, Jos made his feelings public and called on Horner to resign before the team "exploded".
This week it was Marko's turn when he suggested on Friday that he could be "suspended" by Red Bull. Was it a final roll of the dice? Did Marko dare Red Bull to get rid of him? Was he trying to trigger the 'escape clause' in Verstappen's contract? That remains to be seen.
Marko appeared side by side with Mintzlaff in the Jeddah paddock on Saturday, a few hours before the race, and announced that they had had positive discussions and that he was staying. Given everything we know, it would be a miracle if more twists weren't in store.
