“The leadership dimension came from the circumstances of Red Bull’s season,” he writes. “Specifically the strains arising from the controversy surrounding the Horner internal investigation in the early season. Then the car’s mid-season competitive decline.
“The way Max dealt with the powerplay, which also involved Helmut Marko, the man who had almost single-handedly brought him to F1, was illuminating. He did not align himself with Jos, stayed on good terms with him but went his own way. He did state his unambiguously firm support of Marko – “If he goes, then so do I” – so sending an implicit message to Horner not to overplay his hand. But then he helped bring calm equilibrium back, just continued with the competitive imperative and remained civilised with everyone, Horner included.”
Verstappen’s fire and fury approach to racing is at complete odds with his calmness in the paddock – save for his George Russell outburst in Qatar.
“As Jos was saying that Horner remaining would tear the team apart, Max was ensuring that it wouldn’t,” writes Hughes. “Probably this didn’t come as much of a surprise to his mother, Sophie Kumpen, the former top-class karter who provided much of his genetic make-up. ‘Max will always want to solve things first by talking,’ she explained in a Dutch TV interview. ‘He is a sensitive person. He gets the fierce racing side from Jos. The gentle side from me. But make no mistake, eh. Under the helmet he is a tiger.’
Red Bull’s star driver managed to stay on good terms with all key team members despite cracks appearing elsewhere
ANP via Getty Images
“The combination of that sociable, easy-going, even-tempered guy outside the car (the Sophie side) and the uncompromising competitive monster in it (the Jos side) is a big part of his strength,” continues Hughes. “But specifically, it has been front and centre in how brilliantly well he kept everything so cohesive in the ’24 campaign when it had many ingredients which could have decimated it.”
