Before the sparks fly

Must intervene: Mintzlaff flies to Jeddah

There is a huge crisis at Red Bull Racing. Oliver Mintzlaff (left) is now said to have boarded a plane to Saudi Arabia.

(Bild: GEPA pictures, Photoshop)

The power struggle in the Red Bull Racing camp is threatening to escalate. While two fronts are reported to have formed at the world champion racing team, the situation is coming to a head due to the accusations recently made against team boss Christian Horner. In order to prevent the barrel from overflowing, sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff has now boarded a plane to Jeddah, according to the German newspaper "Bild".

Background: Since the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, a rumored power struggle between two fronts has been raging at Red Bull. According to this, Horner is on the one side with the Thai Red Bull majority owner Chalerm Yoovidhya as the most important advocate. And the Austrian headquarters with Managing Director Oliver Mintzlaff and Styrian Helmut Marko, who in turn is close to the Verstappen family, on the other.

"Team is in danger"
In addition, Jos Verstappen, the father of world champion Max Verstappen, warned a few days ago that the Bulls would explode if Horner, who is accused of having sent sex messages to a female employee, remained at the racing team. "The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can't go on like this. He is playing the victim, but he is the one causing the problems," the 52-year-old made clear.

Chalerm Yoovidhya is friends with Horner. However, his relationship with Mintzlaff is considered to have cooled.

(Bild: James Moy / PA / picturedesk.com)

Things are boiling over at the Austrian-British racing team - Mintzlaff is supposed to settle the dispute. The 48-year-old is expected to attend the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, according to the German newspaper "Bild". Yoovidhya only traveled to Bahrain last weekend, and now his opponent of all people has made the trip to the desert. Despite the double victory at the start of the season, the Bulls are currently making headlines off the tarmac ...