RED BULL’S team advisor Helmut Marko reportedly fears he could be SUSPENDED following the Christian Horner sexting storm.
The 80-year-old has played a major role in Red Bull’s Formula One success over recent years.
However, he now thinks that his future working with them may be up in the air and he may not even make it to the Australian GP on March 24.
Marko was also under strict instructions not to speak to the media and, should he be found guilty of releasing confidential information, then he could face disciplinary action.
Marko was quizzed about the rumour that he would be forced to miss the next race in Australia and he told the Austrian broadcaster ORF the “theoretical possibility exists”.
Should he be sacked, there is a suspicion in the paddock that it could trigger a clause in Verstappen’s contract, paving a way for him to break his pact with Red Bull to join Mercedes.
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It comes a day after Sun Online revealed that the female employee who raised the initial complaint had been suspended on full pay.
But 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.
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“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.”
This new distraction is something neither team principal or Verstappen will want to see.
The 50-year-old 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.
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.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has sided with his dad in the bitter row that threatens to rip Red Bull apart.
Jos Verstappen claimed following his son’s win in Bahrain last week that Red Bull would “explode” should Horner remain in charge.
Verstappen, who as a result of his dad’s row with Horner, has since been linked with a switch to Mercedes, said: “My dad is always very outspoken. He’s not a liar, that’s for sure.”
When asked further about his relationship with his father and manager, Raymond Vermeulen, Verstappen says they will ALWAYS be by his side while he is racing in F1.
He added: “I don’t see myself in F1 without them by my side for sure.”
He was then asked about his dad’s comment that Red Bull could “explode”, to which Verstappen replied: “I don’t know, I hope not! It shouldn’t be. It’s a strong company, it’s a strong team, a lot of strong team members, so normally not.
“If you have arguments or not, there’s always things that can be worked out.
“Everyone is man enough and respectful enough to each other in that sense.
“I’ve also not also agreed with everything that happened, not talking about lately or whatever, just in general in F1.
“Sometimes it’s good to have a discussion about things. You might agree to disagree sometimes, that’s what happens in a relationship.
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“It’s not about being isolated from it. I think you could see in Bahrain that it doesn’t affect the performance of the team.
“Ideally as a team, you wouldn’t like to have these moments, but it also shows that I think we are all focused on our job and that’s to perform on the track.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
