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Horner spoke to Verstappen's manager about mutual dissatisfaction
Max Verstappen's dominant victory seemed to be only an afterthought last race week. Surely the main issue in Bahrain was Christian Horner. Although the team principal had been cleared by Red Bull of transgressive behaviour, the matter continued to simmer in the oil state after a leak of possible Whatsapp messages from Horner and the woman in question. Jos Verstappen then accused Horner in the media that Red Bull Racing was on the verge of breaking up, and that is because of the Briton.
On Saturday night, after qualifying, a heated argument erupted between Jos Verstappen and Horner. In an attempt not to escalate the situation further, and to calm things down, Horner had a conversation with Raymond Vermeulen, Max Verstappen's manager, in Dubai on Monday night. At that meeting, tempers reportedly calmed somewhat. Max and Jos Verstappen were not present at the meeting, incidentally.
Jos not present in Jeddah
Whether this completely takes the chill out of the air remains to be seen. Next Saturday, the second Grand Prix of the season will be held in Jeddah. Jos Verstappen will not be present at that race. That has nothing to do with any disagreement between Jos Verstappen and Horner. Max's father has racing commitments of his own this weekend. He is competing in a rally in Belgium.
Max Verstappen kept his head in racing last weekend in Bahrain. Despite all the commotion in his team, the Dutchman managed to drive to a dominant victory. The party was complete for Red Bull with Sergio Perez's second-place finish.