Max Verstappen's influence at Red Bull 'not unhealthy', says journalist

Max Verstappen may have a major voice within Red Bull, but he is not acting as a “de facto team boss”, according to well-connected Dutch journalist Erik van Haren.

Speaking on The Inside Track podcast, the De Telegraaf reporter - known for his close ties to the Verstappen camp - dismissed claims that the four-time world champion has assumed control in the post-Christian Horner, Laurent Mekies-led era.

“His influence is really big,” Van Haren admitted. “But I wouldn’t say he’s the team principal. I hope that’s not the case, I don’t think that would be a healthy situation.”

Both Helmut Marko and new team boss Mekies have credited Verstappen’s input and leadership as key to Red Bull’s mid-season recovery, but Van Haren stressed that such authority is normal for a driver of his status.

“Everyone in the team sees what he brings, both on the sporting side and the marketing side,” he explained. “Selling shirts, a lot of that is because of Verstappen. With all due respect, it’s not usually because of the second driver.

“Of course, Checo Perez has huge fan days in Mexico and Yuki in Japan, but Verstappen is the guy who wins the races for them, often without having the best car.”

Van Haren added that Verstappen’s long tenure and success naturally give him a major say in technical and strategic matters.

“If you’ve been in a top team for ten years, you end up with a big voice in a lot of things,” he said. “He has the technical experience and background as well, and it would be silly for a team not to use that.”