Red Bull sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff has criticized Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff for his constant courting of Formula One world champion Max Verstappen.
Mercedes are losing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari next year and have watched Verstappen dominate the sport for the last three seasons. A power struggle at Red Bull may open the door for the Dutchman to one day decide to leave, but Mintzlaff has warned Wolff off.
"I understand the pressure that Toto Wolff and perhaps other teams are under after years of being left behind. But I think that Toto Wolff should concentrate on his own challenges. He has enough of them," Mintzlaff told Bild am Sonntag at the Miami Grand Prix.
"It also has something to do with respect when you keep talking about the personnel of other teams. That's not right."
Verstappen's deal at Red Bull runs until 2028 and having started the season again as the runaway leader, Red Bull supremo Mintzlaff - in charge of all the energy drink firm's sporting endeavours - thinks his star driver will stay put.
"Max still has a long-term contract here and has never said that he doesn't want to fulfil it. I'm not even remotely worried that he's flirting with a move," Mintzlaff said.
"We simply need to regain some calm now. That's what Max wants - and that's what we want too. That's what you need if you want to be successful in sport in the long term, whether in football or Formula One."
But iconic Red Bull designer Adrian Newey will leave the team by the beginning of 2025 at the latest, in part because of a row involving team boss Christian Horner and a female employee, who made allegations against the Briton. The team later cleared him of wrongdoing.
"He only has the team's success in mind and is a very good CEO," Mintzlaff added.
