Jos Verstappen copped significant flak for the manner in which he reacted to Sergio Perez winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ahead of his son Max on Sunday.
It was a fine showing by Perez to clinch his first win of the season and fifth overall. Meanwhile, Verstappen had started the race in 15th spot and also displayed great driving acumen to drive past the field and end the race with a 1-2 for Red Bull.
This led to wild celebration in the Red Bull paddock following the race, but Jos was seen in sharp contrast to all other members as he sported a glum look.
Jos is known to be a temperamental character and his hot-headedness has landed him in trouble in the past as well, which is something Red Bull as a unit is privy to.
Max’s dad felt Red Bull strategised in a manner that was completely in “Checo’s favour”, which brought out a strong response from team principal Christian Horner.
Horner insisted that the team is more than just ‘Max Verstappen Racing’ and will continue to support both drivers depending on the situation.
This sentiment was supported by Red Bull technical advisor Helmut Marko, who claimed that Jos was only interfering with the peaceful atmosphere at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
“It creates resentment within the team and gives journalists something to write about,” Marko said.
“I called him right away [and said to him] ‘What is this, Jos?’. Everyone can have their own opinion, including Jos, but he shouldn’t publish it on his son’s website. [Jos] said, ‘Yes, but I am the father’, which is fine but don’t do it in that way.
“Anyway, Jos is Jos. He can sometimes get angry quickly and none of that is going to change. Max admitted he had spoken to his father about the comments ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.”
If Perez continues to show the same sort of form and Red Bull cements its position at the top of the standings, this season might turn into a feisty internal battle between Max and Checo.
This would inevitably lead to more such comments from Jos, who never seems to take any sort of reprimands too seriously.
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