The political flashpoints that added intrigue to F1 2024

Internal conflict that threatened to rip Red Bull apart. Jos Verstappen’s poisonous row with Christian Horner. Toto Wolff’s seemingly endless pursuit of Max Verstappen. The political tussle around Andretti’s Formula 1 application. Plus all the bewildering departures at the FIA and its president’s unpopular decisions.

The 2024 season delivered on the track but there was no shortage of news off it either. Rarely has there been such widespread political turbulence, involving so many different parties, over the course of an F1 season.

The investigation into Christian Horner

News broke on 5 February that Horner was facing an internal investigation following allegations from a female colleague of inappropriate behaviour. The complaint was being handled by Red Bull’s HQ in Austria. In a short statement, it confirmed that the investigation was being conducted by an external lawyer and that the accusation was being taken seriously.

Horner, who had always denied any wrongdoing, took part in the team’s launch of the RB20, where he was awkwardly centre stage. Unsurprisingly, questions about the ongoing investigation were made off-limits but Horner continued to deny the allegations. It was evident that he was feeling the strain of media interest that had filtered into his private life.

At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull’s rivals called for transparency, urging the FIA to intervene. There were suspicions that their attempts to lob grenades in Red Bull’s direction were intended to further unsettle the team. The pressure exerted on Horner and Red Bull appeared insurmountable.

But all that changed with another short press release issued from Austria on Wednesday 28 February. It said: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.”

The rift within Red Bull was the major talking point as 2024 began

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

It added: “The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned.”

But it wasn’t ‘case closed’. Almost 24 hours to the minute later, an anonymous email dropped to key figures in F1, including journalists, claiming to be evidence of WhatsApp exchanges between the two parties. The email distribution list and its contents were designed to have maximum impact and smash Horner from having any further existence in F1.

The incendiary email drew a fierce reaction from Jos Verstappen, who commented that “the team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He [Horner] is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

The grievance against Horner, which was ultimately dismissed, had placed a huge strain on his relationship with his star driver, Verstappen Sr and the team

Verstappen Sr’s criticism, coupled with Horner’s defence, quickly escalated and drew his son Max into the conflict. The reigning world champion was caught in no man’s land between his dad and his boss.

Ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, however, Verstappen was asked to pick sides. He ultimately went with his father: “He is always very outspoken. He is not a liar, that’s for sure. My dad and I are very close. We call every day even if he is not around. But I am not a guy who likes to speak a lot about certain stuff and I just want to focus on the driving, and if there are issues we try to resolve it within the team.”

The grievance against Horner, which was ultimately dismissed, had placed a huge strain on his relationship with his star driver, Verstappen Sr and the team. Was it this messy, disruptive saga that convinced Adrian Newey to jump ship to Aston Martin? And was it also a contributing factor in Jonathan Wheatley’s departure as sporting director? Red Bull had been dragged through the mud off the back of such a dominant 2023.

The battle for Red Bull supremacy

What had started out as an investigation into Horner escalated into an outright war of words within Red Bull. On the surface, what had seemed like Horner going head-to-head with Jos Verstappen quickly became a wider conflict that stretched deep into the heart of the parent company.

Red Bull CEO Mintzlaff (right) was also dragged into the mix

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Horner’s future was rooted in the leadership of Red Bull GmbH, with reports of a division in opinions of the Austrian-run business that had a Thai majority shareholder. The subplot was intriguing, stoked by accusations of a power vacuum caused by the passing of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.

The Austrian side of the business was being headed up by Oliver Mintzlaff, the former Red Bull Leipzig CEO who had taken a more prominent role in the energy drink’s business. Yet crucially for Horner, he had the support of majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya.

The Thai is the son of co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, who died in 2012. Yoovidhya Jr owns 51% of the Red Bull company and has the power of veto on shareholder decisions, and he is therefore a powerful ally for Horner.

Yoovidhya and his wife Daranee attended the race in Bahrain when Horner was at his lowest ebb and held a very public show of support, meeting Horner and his wife Geri at a table outside the team’s hospitality unit in full view of the paddock.

The sight of the allegiance stirred up whispers that it riled those in Austria who were trying to remove Horner from power. At the following race in Saudi Arabia, it was Mintzlaff’s turn to attend – only he kept a low profile and it was impossible to identify Horner’s fate.

It was not until May, in an interview with Bild Am Sonntag, that Mintzlaff finally made clear that he was fully supportive of Horner: “He only has the team’s success in mind and is a very good CEO.”

It was horrendously messy and left some wondering whether the full effects of that row are still to be seen. If indeed Newey’s departure was a consequence of the rift, then Red Bull could feel the impact when the new rules arrive for 2026. Horner has placed his faith in Pierre Wache but, should he falter, pinning the performance drop on Newey’s loss would be all too easy. 

Wolff’s attempts to sign Verstappen

As if there was not enough turmoil for the world champion to contend with, Verstappen Jr was the subject of a long and drawn-out pursuit by Mercedes boss Wolff. Having seen Lewis Hamilton catch him cold by signing for Ferrari, Wolff centred his attention on Verstappen, looking to exploit the fractious relationship at Red Bull. Wolff simply would not accept no for an answer, even when at the Austrian GP Verstappen had openly pledged his immediate future to Red Bull.

Wolff publicly courted Verstappen as he sought to capitalise on the Red Bull chaos, and was pictured chatting to the Dutchman's manager Raymond Vermeulen

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Was Wolff living in denial or just doing all he could to ensure he gave himself the best chance of signing Verstappen after letting him slip through his grasp in 2014? Even after Wolff had confirmed Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the 2025 season, the Austrian would not relinquish the fight. Not until October did Wolff admit it was right to stop “flirting” with Verstappen.

Speaking to Autosport he said: “We’re sitting back. I think I’ve expressed it before, and we have a similar view also from Max’s side: you’ve got to put faith in your drivers or in your team. You need to give it the maximum support you can to make it a success. And only if things go really wrong, will you consider other opportunities.

“For me, it’s like flirting outside whilst you’re making your relationship work. It doesn’t work, I’m not flirting outside. Only if I want to have a change, or consider a change, would I seek a conversation. And it is the same on his side. We’re pretty aligned in our values on that.”

It made absolutely no sense to turn Andretti-Cadillac's application down and smacked of teams’ unwillingness to relinquish a share of the spoils

Nonetheless, Wolff’s persistence had drawn heavy criticism from his old foe Horner, the two having a barbed conversation at the season finale, with Wolff calling the Red Bull boss a “yapping little terrier” following Verstappen’s spat with George Russell.

Andretti’s application to join F1

Possibly the best U-turn of the season came in the form of the Andretti-Cadillac bid to join F1. In January, FOM had declared, in what was seen as a rather damning press release, that it was turning down the application.

The statement read: “Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the championship. The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant.”

The reaction to the rather snooty statement was understandable and unsurprising. It made absolutely no sense to turn the application down and smacked of teams’ unwillingness to relinquish a share of the spoils, despite the obvious benefits of such a huge car brand joining the series.

Michael Andretti was determined in his efforts to secure his team an F1 entry, which ultimately transpired only after he took a step back

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Andretti came back swinging. Michael Andretti made his thoughts on his rejection known, and took his complaint to American politicians and the Department for Justice, which subsequently started its own investigation.

It was all rather unsavoury and went against the FIA’s mandate to grow the sport. After all, one of the reasons for the introduction of a cost cap was to encourage a new entrant into F1. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who had previously led calls for more teams on the grid, urged Andretti and its partner General Motors to “go and buy another team, not to come as the 11th team”.

Andretti was unwavering in its stance and continued to hire staff, pressing ahead with plans to build a car for 2026. The mud-slinging between Andretti, F1, its teams and the FIA continued until FOM reversed its decision to close the door.

On 25 November, a deal in principle was agreed for GM’s Cadillac brand – rather than Andretti, who had upset folk in F1 with his criticism – to join F1 in 2026. It was all handled terribly and left plenty of ill-feeling in the paddock. Somehow, a positive story that would have signalled clear growth in the sport, and a move that would also be a crowd-pleaser in the US, had turned into a mess and made F1 look arrogant.

Political strife at the FIA

There have been so many departures at the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, over the past 12 months that it has become difficult to keep count.

The long list of those to leave includes sporting director Steve Nielsen, technical director Tim Goss, chief executive officer Natalie Robyn, head of motorsport for women commission Deborah Mayer, secretary general of mobility Jacob Bangsgaard, director of communications Luke Skipper, senior steward Tim Mayer, deputy F2 race director Janette Tan and F1 race director Niels Wittich. On 5 December, Andrew Wheatley left his position as the road sport director.

The rate of staff either leaving their posts or being axed was, and remains, somewhat alarming. The timing of Wittich’s departure, after the Brazilian GP and before the final triple-header with the drivers’ and constructors’ titles at stake, was baffling. Information around the move was also lacking. His replacement Rui Marques was well and truly thrown in the deep end.

One person who spoke out was Mayer, who accused the FIA president of taking “offence” at an appeal by the Circuit of The Americas, host of the United States GP in Austin. Ben Sulayem has since heightened concerns about his governance of the FIA, having sought to make changes to the rules that would restrict the powers of the audit and ethics committees.

Wittich's departure as F1's race director at the FIA was unexpected and came in the wake of a significant staffing exodus

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK, had said he was “concerned that major organisations around the world would refuse to work with the FIA if it did not reflect the highest standards of corporate governance, as befits our sport”. But Ben Sulayem, who currently appears to face an uncontested election next December for another term as FIA president, remained in bullish mood.

In an exclusive interview with Autosport in September, Ben Sulayem made his thoughts about the crackdown on drivers swearing clear: “We have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. We’re not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us].”

This analysis drew a response from Hamilton, who said there was a “racial element” to the choice of words used by Ben Sulayem. Undeterred, Ben Sulayem pushed ahead with his campaign.

Ben Sulayem doubled down in his response, telling them it was “none of their business”, serving to increase the drivers’ tensions with the organisation

Verstappen was hit with a community service order for swearing during a live press conference, while Charles Leclerc was fined for also cursing during an interview. The punishment drew a furious reaction from Verstappen, who sought to conduct his own press conference, free from the threat of punishment, where he expressed his dissatisfaction with the directive.

Ben Sulayem also found himself the subject of a pointed statement from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association: “We urge the FIA president to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery and underpants.”

Unwavering, Ben Sulayem doubled down in his response, telling them it was “none of their business”, serving to increase the drivers’ tensions with the organisation. It also leaves relationships delicately poised with FOM.

There is a growing feeling of discontent with the president and his running of the FIA, which has put him on a collision course with F1 and its owner Liberty Media. If his actions continue to upset and annoy, then it is inevitable that the two will clash.

If the 2025 season is anything like as politically heated as 2024, then things could get very interesting indeed.

Tensions between FIA President Ben Sulayem and the drivers showed no signs of diminishing as the season came to an end

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images