Max Verstappen’s father Jos: Red Bull losing too many people

LONDON – Three-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen’s father says Red Bull Racing “will explode” if they continue to lose key employees.

Jos Verstappen, himself a former F1 driver, expressed his concerns over the recent departures of chief strategist Will Courtenay to McLaren, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Audi-Sauber and design guru Adrian Newey to Aston Martin.

Jos said the instability under team principal Christian Horner is not sustainable.

“It can’t go on this way. It will explode. There is tension here while he remains in position,” Jos told Mail Sport.

Max still leads the F1 drivers’ standings and remains in position to win a fourth straight world championship, despite going winless in the past eight races. His once-dominant lead has shrunk to 52 points over McLaren’s Lando Norris with six races remaining.

“This is what I warned about. The team then says: ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, we have someone else (we can put in that position)’,” Jos told Motorsport.com. “But it’s too many people now (leaving). And Max gets questions about it every time and so on. So yeah, I think it’s just not good, what’s happening at the moment.”

Red Bull are not the only ones who have come under criticism from Jos, as he has also hit out at the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

Max has been embroiled in a row with the sport’s governing body after he was ordered by stewards to do “community work of public interest” with the FIA after he used a swear word in a press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

The penalty, which he described as “super silly”, led Max to give only short answers or offering “no comment” to reporters. Jos told Autosport.com that the FIA’s punishment was “the most ridiculous thing”, adding: “I don’t think the FIA is doing a very good job.”

Horner, meanwhile, has suggested that RB’s new driver Liam Lawson is not only auditioning to fill a spot in Red Bull’s sister team next season, but could potentially replace Sergio Perez at the senior Red Bull outfit.

New Zealander Lawson, 22, is replacing Australian Daniel Ricciardo for the last six races of the season alongside Yuki Tsunoda at RB, starting with the United States Grand Prix in late October.

Horner told the F1 Nation podcast: “All the drivers are under pressure to deliver but the reason why Daniel was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo (Perez) didn’t deliver.

“We need answers for the ­bigger picture in terms of drivers. It’s the perfect opportunity to line Liam up alongside Yuki, to see how he performs over the remaining six grands prix.”

Lawson will be hit with an immediate grid penalty in Austin. The penalty, inherited from Ricciardo for exceeding the season’s engine allocation, is a drop of 10 places. REUTERS