The replacement or continuity of Pérez is another open front in the internal struggle at Red Bull, with Horner and Marko in opposing positions to decide which driver would occupy Pérez’s position.
Christian Horner must have been stunned when he found himself in the middle of the ambush. During the Saudi Arabian GP, Helmut Marko revealed that he could be removed from Red Bull, as a result of the internal struggle for control of the team. In reality, his confession rolled out the carpet for Max Verstappen to launch an absolute defence of the Austrian after taking pole position, linking his future in the team to that of Marko.
Privately, Horner discovered that the Verstappens had included a clause in his contract linking his continuity at Red Bull to that of the Austrian. In the midst of a fratricidal war, the Briton felt the grass being cut from under his feet. He was not in control of the team’s most important asset, in the hands of Helmut Marko.
Danny Ric ❤️
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An emotional Daniel Ricciardo speaks after the #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/53hD09HZ4z
The internal context of the power struggle at Red Bull since the death of Dietrich Mateschitz offers another perspective for analysing the choice of the Austrian team’s second driver , disconcerting for the canons that have prevailed in the team for two decades.
Control of the second driver would thus become another power struggle for both, especially for Horner, who would be resisting Marko placing another pawn. Because they have not always been on the same page within the Red Bull ‘pool’ in terms of drivers. For reasons of performance, but perhaps also political. Including Carlos Sainz.