Every word said in Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner’s bitter feud

Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner have been involved in a long-standing war of words – but what have each said about the other and how did it all start?

Although it is a rather one-sided exchange from Jos Verstappen’s side, the two figures in the Red Bull team have often battled in the press with the pair clearly not the best of friends.

Jos Verstappen v Christian Horner – a long-running feud

Having a world-class talent in the team isn’t always a straightforward process and, in Christian Horner’s case, that has put him in the crosshairs of Jos Verstappen.

The 52-year-old Dutchman has not been afraid to say what he thinks about the Red Bull team principal but what has been said between the two over the years?

May 2022 – Jos Verstappen goes after Red Bull for Monaco strategy

Ah, the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. A great day for Red Bull. Sergio Perez wins the event for the first time and with it, Red Bull move further ahead in the Constructors’ standings.

But not long after the champagne spray had dried, there was a post on Verstappen.com from an angry Jos. He wrote that while the team had achieved a good result, they had done little to help his son who was leading the championship.

Jos said the strategy was in “Checo’s favour”, something he said “was disappointing to me” and went on to say he “would have liked it to be different for the championship leader.”

The friendly fire from within the Red Bull camp landed Jos Verstappen with a telling off from Helmut Marko as well as Horner saying he did not have all the facts – but it was the first real sign that Jos Verstappen was willing to put his and his son’s interests above the team’s.

August 2022 – Jos goes after Red Bull strategy again

This is a more minor entry in terms of how toxic it has become between Verstappen and the Red Bull seniority but in August, he again hit out at the team’s strategy.

He said they were “not always good”, although they did “make fewer mistakes than Ferrari.”

It is worth remembering that Max had an 80 point lead in the standings at this point…

March 2023 – Jos Verstappen takes aim at Sergio Perez

It is not just Horner and the team that have been targeted for some criticism, but Sergio Perez too, with Verstappen making clear what he thinks of the Mexican driver.

Having earlier described Daniel Ricciardo as the team-mate his son learned the most from, he made a subtle dig at Perez by suggesting that he does not get the chance to win very often.

“Of course we all want to win but that was not possible today,” he said following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in which Verstappen finished P2. “The margin was too small for that. I don’t think he [Perez] gets the chance that often. He sees that too and then goes for it.

“It went against us in qualifying. Bad luck, I won’t go into that. We know what it is. But otherwise Max just easily drives to that pole position. And then the race is a bit easier.

“Because we actually already predicted: it is quite difficult to come forward here. This is a track with long turns, it’s hard to make a difference there. We need more difficult circuits and more corners.”

March 2024 – The feud ignites as Verstappen calls for Horner’s dismissal

With Max Verstappen winning all but three races and walking to a title, 2023 was a relatively quiet year from Jos – but that dramatically changed at the start of 2024.

The internal investigation into Christian Horner’s conduct – an investigation which was dismissed – was the lighting of a fuse and from that moment, the two have been at odds with one another.

The first verbal volley came from Jos, who accused Horner of “playing the victim.”

“There is tension here while he remains in position,” the former F1 driver told Mail Sport. “The team is in danger of being torn apart.

“It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

March 2024 – Reported arguments in Bahrain

This is one that is a little harder to verify so take it with a pinch of salt – but it is worth a mention.

Horner and Verstappen reportedly locked horns in the Bahrain GP paddock shortly after Horner had been exonerated of any wrongdoing from the investigation.

While that may or may not have happened, the two were spotted chatting again during a weekend where Max went on to win.

March 2024 – Jos Verstappen skips Saudi and the rumour mill goes into overdrive

A report from ESPN that Verstappen was missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had plenty wondering whether he had been barred from entering but as PlanetF1.com revealed, Verstappen Snr was due at a prior commitment.

The fact that even his absence was seen as another ploy against Horner is worth a mention though.

March 2024 – Horner responds for the first time

Understandably, Horner was a little preoccupied with the investigation to be responding to Verstappen’s comments directly, but the Red Bull boss did just that in March, although he refused to elaborate on whether they had cleared the air.

“I’m obviously aware of the comments that were made,” he said.

“There was a discussion subsequent to the race, everyone’s focus is very much on the future, the team’s focus is very much on defending both of these world titles, Max’s three successive world titles, the 55 victories of Max, the 114 victories we’ve achieved, and now sit tied with Williams on GP victories, our focus is very much on the future, discussions took place following the race in Bahrain and we’re all looking forward.”

“I think I’m not going to air all the discussions that are private between the parties but discussions have been inevitably had.

“The team is focused on the challenges that are ahead of us, and the team is very focused on the season ahead and, whilst we’ve had a very dominant race in Bahrain, we don’t expect that in future races.

“We’re acutely aware of our competitors, and you don’t achieve what we’ve had by not being a united team – you need to be working in total harmony to achieve those kinds of races.”

March 2024 – Jos Verstappen predicts ‘bad’ future if Horner stays

Clearly the Bahrain discussion had done little to improve relations between the two and they took another turn for the worse when Verstappen repeated his belief that if Horner stayed in post, it would be “bad” for Red Bull.

“In the press conference Horner gave the other day it was all about him and his problems when we should be talking about Max, the car, his performance and the race,” Verstappen said.

“I’ve already said I think it is causing problems if he stays.

“I think it’s too late for Christian to say ‘leave me alone’ but he has the support of the Thai owner so I think he will stay for the rest of the season.

“I said it would bad if he stayed, it really isn’t good for the team, this whole situation.”

May 2024 – More Jos warnings following Adrian Newey’s departure

There was a big event within the walls of Red Bull’s base in April when long-time designer Adrian Newey announced he would be departing in 2025.

Of course, Verstappen had some thoughts on the matter.

“The team is in danger of falling apart. I was afraid of that earlier this year,” Verstappen told Dutch publication De Telegraaf.

“For internal peace, it is important that key people stay on board. That is not the case now.

“Newey is leaving and earlier this year it also looked like Helmut would be sent away. For the future, that is not good.”

May 2024 – Max Verstappen tries to play peacemaker

It is easy to forget in all this that there is another Verstappen in play – Max. The current World Champion has had to deal with all this in the background as he attempts to retain his crown and while he has not spoken too much on the subject, he did so in May.

“My dad will always stay with me, of course.

“They [his dad and Horner] are not in conflict. People can have different opinions but that’s a different story.”

“There are a lot of pillars involved. When I jumped to Red Bull Racing [in 2016], Christian is a pillar within that whole story.

“But it’s always really about everyone being back on track focused on performance.

“We have said it many times now, we are very focused on the performance side of things at the moment and hopefully we can keep that going.”

May 2024 – Jos Verstappen declares Red Bull dominance is dead after McLaren surge

If Jos Verstappen was that vocal when Red Bull were winning everything, it is no surprise that he has spoken out even more now that they are in a title fight.

At the end of May, Verstappen declared Red Bull’s dominance as over following McLaren’s big improvements.

“For sure there will be other tracks where Red Bull will do well again, but I am very curious [to see] how they will solve these problems.

“They will have to do something about it, understand where certain difficulties come from. Meanwhile, it is clear that McLaren and Ferrari are getting closer and closer.

“Max has been good at hiding some of the problems, but you can see how big the difference is between him and his team-mate.

“It seems to me that Red Bull’s period of dominance has come to an end.”

June 2024 – Tensions rise as Verstappen misses out on legends parade in Austria

It was a bit of he said, she said in Austria as, depending on who you asked, you got a different answer.

The facts are that Jos Verstappen was due to take part in a Legends’ Parade in Austria during the grand prix weekend where he would drive the RB8 but in the end, he did not take part.

As to why, that is where the speculation comes in. On one hand, you have some claiming Horner blocked it given their war of words while other reports suggest Verstappen himself pulled out.

Whatever the truth is, it was the most visual example of their battle and Horner pulled no punches in his press conference that weekend…

June 2024 – Horner fires back in Austria press conference

In Austria, Horner went on the offensive by directly addressing Jos Verstappen.

Horner said he did not veto Verstappen’s attendance before remarking that the ‘legends’ [i.e not Jos] would be driving before saying that if Mercedes, consistently linked, really want a Verstappen in their team then Jos is free.

June 2024 – Max Verstappen says situation could have been avoided

Horner’s press conference meant there were plenty wanting to probe Max Verstappen about the tension and the Dutchman just wished it could have been avoided.

“It’s not nice. I think not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian or for the team. Because, you don’t want these things to happen.

“My dad has been quite clear about, you know, the reason behind it and of course, I can understand his opinion on that because at the end of the day, he gets asked to drive the car, finds out that he’s not wanted to drive the car.

“Well, my dad actually doesn’t care about driving the car. But he got asked and said ‘Please, you know, do it for the fans, Dutch fans, blah blah, Red Bull, we have a great relationship with, home track.’ So I understand.

“At the other end, I’m here, of course, to focus on the performance side of things. So I want a good relationship with everyone but of course, this scenario could have been avoided.”

But was that to be the end of it? Not a chance.

August 2024 – Jos Verstappen says he is “completely finished” with Horner

Having declared himself “completely finished” with Horner, Lando Norris’ dominant Dutch GP win was another chance for Verstappen to tell Red Bull where they went wrong.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I’m doing it anyway,” Jos Verstappen told De Telegraaf after the Dutch Grand Prix. “The fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says enough.

“They just don’t have it right here at the moment. I think they should take a good look in the mirror.

“Max knew this was coming. He just didn’t have a chance. This way it’s going to be really tough the rest of the year.

“Max is doing everything he can, but doesn’t have the material to finish it. It was already exceptional that he qualified second.”

August 2024 – Jos Verstappen tells Horner the ‘situation is serious’ and he has to get the team back on track

More comments came in the wake of the Dutch GP with Jos Verstappen telling Horner it was his job to get the team back on track.

“Over 20 seconds is a huge disappointment. Max never had a chance of winning.

“But that’s not surprising when you regress the car.”

“That says it all. The team took the wrong turn several times,” he said.

“Internally, we should hold up a mirror to ourselves and not always gloss over everything. It’s time – if it’s not already too late – to question ourselves. The good people are leaving the team. I’m very unhappy with what’s happening.

“You can’t sugarcoat it anymore, the situation is serious.

“Max won’t be happy with having a car like this. Now it’s up to Horner to get the team back on track.”

“The fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says enough.”

September 2024 – Jos Verstappen warns: ‘Cut the stupid crap’

Verstappen would also respond to Sebastien Buemi being name-dropped for his simulator role in Max Verstappen’s podium finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Asked by the media in Singapore how crucial Buemi’s session on Friday night was for the team, Horner joked: “He was consuming plenty of Red Bulls to keep him going!

“He played an important part, as the whole team, in working hard and long days and long nights.

“And with the benefit of there being no factory shutdown over the next three-week period, it’s going to be a busy period of activity.”

But Verstappen was not all too pleased with that assessment and said “cut out the stupid crap.”

September 2024 – Jos Verstappen makes latest Red Bull criticism

Which brings us to the latest entry and the latest critique of Red Bull by Verstappen.

After another staff member was announced to be leaving, Verstappen said this is exactly what he had warned about.

“This is what I warned about,” Verstappen told Motorsport.com.

“The team then says: ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, we have someone else [who we can put on that position].’

“But it’s too many people now [leaving]. And Max gets questions about it every time and so on. So yeah, I think it’s just not good, what’s happening at the moment.”

Where this feud goes next? Time will only tell…