The issues that have recently come to light have made waves in the Formula 1 circuit. It is so big that I will be splitting it into two parts. These include the civil war between the Verstappens and Red Bull. The second part will handle the investigation of Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner and the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. I was initially unaware of the details of each matter. As such, I would like to thank Marc Lieberthal for providing the details and shedding light on it.
This war began last year in the last qualifying round of the Monaco Grand Prix (round 7 of 23). Max Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, crashed during said round. Prior to the crash, he was firmly in place to finish in pole position. However, Verstappen was having a good lap and looked set to finish in pole position instead. It was due to this crash that prevented this from happening. This was because a red flag was being waved and hence qualifying was stopped.
Red Bull later found out that this crash was no accident. This was done on purpose so that Perez could preserve his finished qualifying position. Monaco's cuitcuit is so tight that it's impossible to overtake when the race takes place. In a M. Night Shyamalan-ish twist, Max's dad, Jos, found out that Red Bull knew about this crash all along. He found out that Red Bull decided to turn a blind eye on the matter. Jos was red in the face on this finding out.
In reality, what Sergio Perez did, could constitute to cheating. Jos didn't let his anger go unnoticed, he made public criticism of Christian Horner. This is especially after a race back in 2021 where Red Bull gave Perez a better strategy than to Max Verstappen. This was of particular note because this was the start of the year long rivalry between him and Lewis Hamilton. Horner has since made it public that he doesn't like Jos Verstappen. The latter has come out saying that Red Bull will implode and will be ripped apart if Horner remains where he is.
Having written and read all this, I am speechless. It's hard to reply to all of this. Everyone in a team should be treated equally. To me, what Perez and Red Bull did was despicable, especially considering the rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton that was brewing. With everything being said, there are few evil traits that can contribute to this behaviour: sadism; egoism; machiavellianism and psychopathy.
Red Bull displayed sadism by humiliating Verstappen with the stunt that they pulled. They wanted a different driver to win the circuit - with no real explanation. Egoism, is just the fact that Red Bull and Christian Horner were just fulfilling their own needs and desires. They didn't care about the possible ramifications that might take place, whether it be the constructors championship or the individual championship. Michiavellianism refers the simple act of them manipulating the actions, i.e. the crash, without concern of any possible injuries or subsequent actions. I think psychopathy speaks for itself.
It's probably just me but the Red Bull construction team might be evil and toxic. The actions that they took is just disgusting. If I were the Verstappens, I would runaway from them and find another construction team as soon as possible. Being associated with someone who's evil can be very detrimental. You might pick up and develop their counterpart's traits and behaviour. Get out while you can.
I've got to side with the Verstappens on this matter. If I found out that I got cheated out of something for no apparent legitimate reason, I would voice my anger and frustration. Even if it cost me something, I couldn't care less. Everyone has their right to free speech. If this is not allowed, we, as a society, might as well keep our mouths iron shut and just take what we are served. Additionally, as per the Penguins of Madagascar (movie wise - 2005), we should, "Smile and wave."