"This could have been avoided," says Max Verstappen of hostility between his father and Christian Horner.

Though Horner has denied it, Verstappen Snr has told the Dutch media that the Red Bull boss personally vetoed the opportunity for him to drive the 2012 car in the Legends Parade at the this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

Cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the claims of inappropriate behaviour towards a female member of staff at the beginning of the year, Horner understandably wanted to get on with the job of managing the team as it sought its fourth successive title with Max Verstappen.

However, at the heart of the subsequent unrest within the team was Verstappen Snr, who, among other things, warned that Horner's continued presence at Red Bull risked the team being "torn apart".

Speaking of the situation, Max Verstappen admitted that it is "not nice", and feels it could have been handled better.

"Naturally of course it's not nice," he told reporters. "Not for myself, not for my dad, not for Christian, not for the team.

"Of course you don't want these things to happen," he added. "I think my dad has been quite clear about 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, while my dad, he actually doesn't care about driving the car, but he got asked and said please do it for the fans, Dutch fans, blah, blah, blah.

"Red Bull, we have a great relationship with, home track. So I understand. On the other hand, I'm here 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, yep."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by karel, 30/06/2024 17:42

"Jos should stay away , he is destroying the team and his sons 4 title , here or any other team. The guy is bad news "

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2. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 30/06/2024 14:44

"Maybe whoever asked Jos to participate wasn't told it was a "Legends" parade.

Even if the legends might refer to the cars being driven, I would still tell Jos Verwomanslappin to go sit in a dark corner and just continue to live vicariously through his son. "

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3. Posted by KKK, 30/06/2024 14:05

"TBH I couldn't give a pigs fart about their little pathetic battle. Jos is just Max's father, nothing to do with the team, setup or practices. Jos should go and play gold or something else"

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4. Posted by Wokingchap, 30/06/2024 10:55

"Yes Max it could've been avoided, your Dad could've kept quiet."

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"It's not nice," admits Verstappen

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