Christian Horner's ‘noise’ verdict amid ‘disharmony’ with Jos Verstappen

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner has once again faced questions surrounding the apparent ‘disharmony’ between himself and Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.

The latest moment of tension between Horner and Verstappen Sr was sparked at the Austrian Grand Prix when the latter accused the Red Bull team boss of purposely blocking his planned outing in a Legends Parade before Sunday’s race. 

Red Bull insisted this was not the case but decided that images and footage of Verstappen Sr would not be used or shared on their social media channels.

Speaking on Friday in Austria, Horner stressed that he did not “veto” Verstappen’s scheduled appearance in a 2012 title-winning RB8.

Three-time F1 world champion Verstappen waded in after winning the sprint race on Saturday, believing the row was unnecessary and “could have been avoided”.

Verstappen Jr went on to claim a dominant pole position for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring in qualifying.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the session, Horner was asked how he manages the ‘disharmony’ between himself and Verstappen Sr.

“Look, to be honest with you as soon as we cross that line into the garage everything is normal,” Horner said.

"Whatever the noise is… as soon as everybody is in the garage, everybody knows what their job is and everybody is focused on one goal. We have a fantastic team.

"Max is the best driver in the world and showing quite clearly why. I think the way he handles himself as well, he’s just grown as a human being.”

In an interview with the website of Dutch magazine Formula 1, Verstappen Sr said he is “completely done” with Horner and labelled the Red Bull team principal “childish”.

Giving his thoughts on the situation, Verstappen Jr said: “Naturally of course it's not nice, I think not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian, not for the team.

“Of course you don’t want these things to happen. I think my dad has been quite clear about the reason behind it, and of course I can understand his opinion on that.”