Christian Horner had ‘heated’ row with Max Verstappen’s father days before sack

Christian Horner is alleged to have been caught up in a “heated” argument with Max Verstappen’s father in the days before he was sacked by Red Bull.

The 51-year-old Briton was relieved of his duties last week after leading Red Bull to eight drivers’ F1 world championships and six constructors’ world titles over the last 20 years.

Horner’s dismissal came 18 months after he was accused - and twice cleared - of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee, and amid months of declining form and political infighting.

Ex-F1 driver turned pundit Ralf Schumacher has claimed he witnessed a heated row between Horner and Jos Verstappen at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

“There was another argument or a heated exchange, at least visually and verbally between Jos Verstappen, Christian Horner and the press officer,” Schumacher told Boxengasse-podcast.

“He can't really deal with criticism. [Sky Sports Germany] are, or I am, now, on a so-called black list, so he no longer talks to us or with me and such. It's actually a joke, because a man who has won so much should actually be able to discuss it in front of the camera.”

Schumacher added that he found Horner to be “a bit of a difficult person” who “failed to keep the team together well”.

A long-running feud

Horner and Verstappen’s father also butted heads in the paddock at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix in the wake of the scandal surrounding the then-Red Bull team boss.

Former F1 driver Verstappen called for Horner to step down at the time, warning that the team would fall apart if he remained in place. This marked the beginning of a dispute between the pair. 

Verstappen Sr pulled out of a parade of historic F1 cars planned ahead of that year’s Austrian Grand Prix after he learned Horner had tried to block him from taking part.

His son Max said at the time that the row was "not nice - not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian, not for the team”.

“My dad has been quite clear about the reason behind it. Of course I can understand his opinion on that, because he got asked to drive the car then finds out he's not wanted to drive the car,” the four-time world champion added.

"My dad actually doesn't care about driving the car, but he got asked and [Red Bull Austria] said: 'Please do it for the fans - Dutch fans, blah, blah, blah’. Red Bull have a great relationship with [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."

Horner's sacking has been viewed as an attempt from Red Bull to keep Verstappen at the team amid rumours of a switch to Mercedes.