When in the closing stages of the 2022 Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was asked to let his Red Bull Racing team mate Sergio Pérez pass in order to help the Mexican in his battle for second in the championship, he refused. When, on the radio, his engineer asked him why, he answered abruptly: “I told you already last time, you guys don’t ask that to me again. Okay, are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it.”
Interrogated, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Max Verstappen is not bigger than the team, and that he expects some explanations from his driver. Pérez who is now tied with Charles Leclerc, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by his team mate’s refusal to help him. Horner had apologised to Pérez on the radio, but later denied the incident shows that Verstappen considers his interests being more important than the team.
“No, we work as a team, we race as a team,” he added. “Our objective is to see if we can get Checo (Pérez) to finish runner-up in the championship. It’s something we never achieved as a team before.”
Although Max Verstappen later declared he cleared the air with team, his blatant dismissal of a team order puts Christian Horner and special adviser Helmut Marko in a difficult situation. The menacing tone and the manner in which Max refused to obey, show that he now considers himself as the boss of the team. That he feels untouchable.
No team, no enterprise can accept such a situation. It’s a matter of credibility, a matter of authority. And that’s a big problem for Red Bull. Verstappen is probably the best driver on the grid, he has a valid long-term contract with the team, and feels, that if necessary, he could move anywhere else, if he wanted to.
On the other hand, he’s only one of the team’s employees and should not overrule his bosses, whatever his reasons are. It would create a dangerous precedent. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (picture below) cannot permit that. So, Red Bull Racing’s management has a problem: it needs to urgently restore its authority, without provoking a crisis with its lead driver. Not an easy situation, isn’t it?
