Blood off the track, murder on it. Max Verstappen, that most prolific killer of hopes, took pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix by more than four tenths of a second on the shortest track in the world.
His father Jos, meanwhile, was the source of the paddock drama, having accused Red Bull team principal Christian Horner of ‘childishly’ objecting to his participation in a legends’ parade prior to Sunday’s race.
Jos, who was due to drive an old Red Bull, pulled out of the event, joking that he would have needed to check whether Horner had cut his brakes. Their enmity surfaced over the texts Horner sent to a female employee. Horner was cleared of wrongdoing; Jos was fuming, and remains so.
Max can’t stand controversy, his concentration turned to the job in hand. But, between winning Saturday morning’s sprint and his qualifying masterclass, he was asked for his views on the spat.
Taking a barely concealed dig at Horner, he said: ‘It is not nice, not for me, not for my dad, not for Christian, and not for the team.
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Max Verstappen managed to secure pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix
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Triple world champion Verstappen followed up on his victory in the sprint race on Saturday
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Verstappen finished ahead of Lando Norris (L) in second and George Russell (R) in third
