‘You can see people tense up’ – Red Bull insider lifts lid on ‘weird vibe’ and staff’s feelings towards Christian Horner
RED BULL RACING staff reportedly “tense up” when chiefs Christian Horner or Helmut Marko walk into the room, according to an F1 insider.
The Milton-Keynes-based team have been struggling with internal issues since the start of 2024, which has coincided with a performance drop off on the track.
Several high profile names, including famed F1 engineer Adrian Newey, have left Red Bull over the last year.
Meanwhile, the RB21 has clearly regressed from last season and has gone from the creme de la creme to arguably the fourth fastest car behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen‘s up and down relationship with team principal Horner has been widely speculated on, with many suggesting the four-time world champion could take up a new challenge elsewhere.
There has been noticeable friction in the current setup, with the problems possibly affecting performance on the track.
Speaking via ESPN’s Unlapped podcast, journalist Nate Saunders says people stiffen up when Horner or Marko walk into the hospitality.
He said: “I mean, I’ve been in the Red Bull hospitality and it can be weird.
“And I think Laurence will attest to this as well, there’s just a weird vibe down there.
“Especially when Jos Verstappen’s in town as well, because you have all of these big figures down at Red Bull and you can tell they’re just kind of side-eyeing each other.
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“Marko will walk in or Horner will walk in and you can see people tense up a little bit. There is a bizarre atmosphere down there.”
The dispute between Horner and Verstappen‘s dad Jos dates back to allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” directed against Horner by a female employee.
The Red Bull chief has always denied the allegations, which were initially made in December 2023 and became public in early February 2024.
The 51-year-old was twice cleared by an independent investigation, but there was then a string of high profile exits, including sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
And Verstappen had to block out his dad’s explosive rows with Horner over the scandal – and deal with a shoddy car – to seal a consecutive fourth world title, and spare the team’s blushes.
But the 27-year-old – who revealed during the off-season that he is set to become a dad – faces a tough challenge to retain his title.
He achieved a shock win at the Japanese Grand Prix, but eight points behind drivers championship‘s leader Lando Norris.
It came after Horner decided to brutally drop driver Liam Lawson for sister team driver Yuki Tsunoda after just TWO races.
In the hours after the tough decision, Verstappen liked an Instagram post accusing Red Bull of “bullying” Lawson.
Meanwhile, Tsunoda dropped out in Q1 in Japan before finishing 12th on his debut Red Bull weekend.
But the Japanese driver did get the second RB21 into Q3 and the points for the first time in 2025 in Bahrain last weekend.
Verstappen could only manage P7 in qualifying and climbed to sixth in the race.
He finished half a minute behind the winner Oscar Piastri as a lack of performance and poor pit stops cost him and Tsunoda.