Jos Verstappen has criticised Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner over his comments about the team’s turnaround in Singapore, urging him to “cut out the c***”.
Red Bull appeared destined to endure a tough round at the Marina Bay Circuit as it ended the second practice hour with Sergio Perez eighth and Max Verstappen 15th.
However, overnight changes to the RB20 inspired an uptick in competitiveness as Verstappen converted his second place on the grid to split the two McLaren drivers.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen hails Red Bull turnaround in F1 Singapore GP
When asked post-race about the remarkable reversal that Red Bull produced, Horner credited the successful set-up tweaks to the work of sim driver Sebastian Buemi.
“He was consuming plenty of Red Bulls to keep him going!” Horner quipped to media including Motorsport Week.
“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.”
Verstappen Sr seems unimpressed with Horner’s assessment on matters as coming across that quote on Twitter prompted him to respond: “Cut out the stupid c***.”
Horner and Verstappen’s ongoing spat
The two men have been at odds ever since an internal probe was launched into Horner in pre-season regarding allegations from a colleague of inappropriate conduct.
He was soon cleared and an appeal has since upheld that ruling, but Verstappen Sr claimed at the time that Red Bull would be “torn apart” through Horner’s presence.
Red Bull’s earlier-season dominance has dissipated to the point that Verstappen, who continues to have a 52-point lead over Lando Norris, has not won in eight races.
McLaren has assumed the position as the benchmark team, with Norris registering a 22-second win on Verstappen’s home ground at the Dutch Grand Prix last month.
Verstappen’s damaging loss to Norris despite taking the lead at the start saw the Dutchman’s father tell BILD: “You can’t sugarcoat it anymore, the situation is serious.
“Max won’t be happy with having a car like this,” he continued. “Now it’s up to Horner to get the team back on track.”
Verstappen Sr prefers Wolff to Horner
Verstappen’s agitation with Red Bull’s regression in competitiveness has resulted in speculation that he could elect to depart the team to pursue a move to Mercedes.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has made clear his design to land the reigning F1 champion and he revealed that discussions with his entourage transpired over the break.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who is close with the Verstappen camp, has conceded that Jos retains a greater opinion of Wolff than he does his son’s current boss.
“He wouldn’t be a good team principal if he didn’t try to get Max,” said Marko on the Inside Line F1 podcast. “I think every top team would like to have Max.
“The other story is all the people live in Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo when there is not a grand prix is a quiet place and there are not so many coffee shops, so it’s natural you run into each other. And of course, Toto makes stories out of it.
“On the other hand, Jos Verstappen I think is a bigger fan of Toto’s than he is of Christian.”
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