MAX VERSTAPPEN refused to be drawn into a debate over the future of Red Bull boss Christian Horner – swerving questions about their relationship.
Horner was cleared of wrongdoing following an internal investigation focusing on alleged “coercive behaviour”.
The investigation was launched following a complaint from a female member of staff.
The 50-year-old was en-route to Bahrain for the opening race of the season earlier today, with many inside the paddock already seeing this as a clue he had been given the green light to continue in his role as team boss of the Red Bull Racing team.
Horner strongly denied the allegations and complied fully with the internal investigation which had been headed up by the energy drink’s Austrian HQ.
Verstappen faced several questions from the media ahead of the Bahrain GP centering on the internal investigation and said it would not affect his performance.
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He said: “It doesn’t [affect me]. I’m very focused on just the performance of the car, myself, and hopefully it will just be resolved very soon.
“It’s a whole team effort, everyone has to stick together, and work towards more success. That’s why it’s important of course to get everything resolved very soon.”
When asked by SunSport if he was 100 percent behind Horner, Verstappen said: “Well, I’m trusting the process, that’s what’s happening right now.
“When you talk about performance, it’s of course very important that everyone sticks together.”
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He was then asked for some more information on the process that Horner is going through and whether he had “full confidence in his team principal”.
He added: “I do not want to get into that. Because it’s not my case anyway, and I don’t want to be involved with that.
“But as a team, yeah, we do trust that process and we just have to be patient, because there’s no need to start saying things, start screaming things out loud.
“You have to be patient. I think I’ve learned that over the years anyway.”
Horner has been with Red Bull Racing since January 2005 and overseen their phenomenal rise.
He has won 13 titles, including both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships last season, with Verstappen taking his third world crown.
Verstappen admitted Horner was crucial to the success of the team and said he would have been missed if he was dismissed from his post.
He said: “He’s very important, otherwise he wouldn’t be in that position right for such a long time.
“Let’s say if your team boss disappears for whatever reason for one or two races, not much is going to happen, because everyone is in their role and they know what they have to do in the short term, but it’s all about people management over time.
“And then of course things will start to be different, if one of the leaders starts to not be there any more.
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“But we are not thinking like that. Like I said before, we just trust the process that we are in as a team of course, to see what the outcome will be.
“Besides that, at the moment, everyone is just very focused on the performance here at the track, and everyone is in a good mood and just excited to get going again.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
