MAX VERSTAPPEN has threatened to walk out from Red Bull if Helmut Marko is forced out as the explosive fallout from the Christian Horner investigation continues.
Marko fears he could be suspended as Red Bull’s Austria HQ as they wade through the mess after Horner was cleared of inappropriate behaviour.
He will meet Red Bull chief Oliver Mintzlaff tomorrow at the Saudi GP after being quizzed about the rumour that he could be suspended and forced to miss the next race in Australia.
Marko, who is a Red Bull employee as opposed to a member of the race team, told the Austrian broadcaster ORF the “theoretical possibility exists”.
He then added: “In the end I decide for myself what I’m going to do.”
It comes a day after Sun Online revealed that the female employee who raised the initial complaint had been suspended on full pay.
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And Verstappen, who took pole position in Jeddah for this weekend’s Saudi Grand Prix, is furious by suggestions Marko could be forced out.
He said: “I am loyal to Helmut. He is a big and important part in my decision making and important he stays within the team including everyone else.
“It is important we keep people together because if an important pillar falls away, that is not good for my career as well.
“So for me, Helmut has to stay. He has built this team with [Red Bull co-founder] Dietrich Mateschitz from day one and been loyal.
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“You need to give the man respect for what he has done and that comes back to loyalty and integrity and is important to why he stays part of the team.”
Horner, 50, was cleared after an internal report dismissed a claim from a female employee.
However, he was then subject of a smear campaign after an anonymous email leaked a series of WhatsApp conversations claiming to be evidence of the internal report.
It triggered a bombastic fallout between Verstappen’s father Jos, who said Horner remaining at the team would cause it to “explode”.
SunSport understands Marko was also under strict instructions from Red Bull HQ not to speak to the media.
However, he has now spoken about the latest twist in this on-going saga that threatens to rip the team apart.
It is another sensational development and should he be found guilty of releasing confidential information then he could face disciplinary action himself.
Should he be forced to go, there is a rumour in the paddock that it could trigger a clause in Verstappen’s contract.
Therefore, Marko’s removal from his role would in theory allow him to break his £43m a year deal with Red Bull that still has five years to run, paving a way for him to join Mercedes.
SunSport understands that Red Bull Racing could now be forced to test the Dutchman’s resolve as his future hangs in the balance.
Horner has been battling a female aide’s discredited claims that he bombarded her with “sexually suggestive” messages.
Horner was cleared of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague following an internal investigation.
But the Red Bull boss was then plunged back into a crisis following an anonymous email leak of WhatsApp exchanges claiming to be evidence from the investigation.
He now says that he wants to “draw a line” under the scandal while saluting his “phenomenally supportive” wife, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
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Geri – who was left in tears when the scandal broke – stood by her husband last week in an awkward show of solidarity in Bahrain after hundreds of embarrassing messages were leaked.
And Ginger Spice will join Horner at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix tomorrow in another public show of support.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
