Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner have not seen eye-to-eye at Red Bull for some time.
Jos Verstappen has launched another sensational verbal attack on Christian Horner with the former left furious following the Dutch Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen’s winless run was extended to five races at his home Grand Prix last weekend with Lando Norris crossing the line first by a 22-second margin.
The huge gap infuriated the three-time world champion’s father, who called on Red Bull to get their house in order.
He told Bild: “Internally, you should hold a mirror up to yourself and not always gloss over everything.
Jos Verstappen does not trust Christian Horner
“It is time – if it is not already too late – to question ourselves.
“The good people are leaving the team. I’m very unhappy with what’s happening.”
He added: “Max won’t be satisfied with having a car like that. Now it’s up to Horner to get the team back on track.”
When asked directly whether he trusts Horner to turn things around at Red Bull, Jos said: “I’ll be surprised, but at the moment I’m saying no.
“A lot has to happen. The whole spirit has to change.”
The alarming comments from Verstappen’s father about Horner come just months after he called on the team principal to step down from his role.
The 52-year-old has also been spotted in conversation with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff on a number of occasions this season, sparking rumours of a spectacular switch for Verstappen.
Helmut Marko has downplayed the conversations between Jos and Wolff and is confident the reigning world champion will stay with Red Bull.
“He wouldn’t be a good team boss if he didn’t try to bring Max in,” Marko said.
Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen don’t see eye-to-eye
“Monte Carlo doesn’t have many coffee shops, so it’s logical that you run into each other and of course Toto makes stories about it afterwards.
“In any case, Jos Verstappen is a bigger fan of Toto than of Christian Horner, but at the moment everything is clear. Max will drive for Red Bull Racing next season.”
He added: “Every contract with a top driver includes performance clauses, based on performance.
Max Verstappen was unable to challenge Lando Norris in Zandvoort
“You have to ask Jos why he is a bigger fan of Toto, but Max and the team are focused on winning the championship.
“We do have to look ahead to the new regulations. Nobody knows who is going to build a good engine, but we do know what happened in 2014.
“Then we had an engine that suddenly lacked 50 hp and was not reliable.
“You don’t know what is going to happen. We just have to give Max a winning car and then all those rumours will stop immediately.”
