Red Bull internal ‘politics’ to blame for F1 championship collapse - Massa

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa believes the infighting and internal politics inside Red Bull have had a destabilising effect on the team and Max Verstappen's bid to retain his drivers' title this year.

Red Bull was rocked at the start of the season when team principal Christian Horner found himself in the spotlight after being accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female employee.

Although an investigation declared no wrongdoing, and a subsequent appeal also dismissed the case, the furore that enveloped Horner sparked an internal feud between the Briton on one side and Verstappen's father Jos, along with advisor Helmut Marko, on the other.

In the aftermath, several senior figures are to leave the team, including chief technical officer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Audi, and head of race strategy Will Courtenay to McLaren.

The dust is still falling, and through it all, Red Bull has lost its grip on its constructors' championship lead to McLaren, whilst three-time F1 champion Verstappen is under considerable pressure from Lando Norris in the drivers' title race from a position of winning seven of the first 10 grands prix.

Massa - 'It's not helping'

Offering his thoughts on the battle being waged, former Ferrari driver Massa, speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, said: "It's amazing.

"What's happening in this year's championship, after what happened at the beginning, is what everyone wants to see in Formula 1 - many teams fighting for victory, many drivers fighting for victory.

"We are at the point where we still have six races to go and everything can happen.

"We have a team like McLaren doing an amazing job, which is the strongest team now, which could maybe change the result of the championship - both championships. It will not be easy on the drivers' side. Max is very strong, a massive talent, a great driver."

The Brazilian then added: "But what's happening inside the team is not nice as well because politics doesn't help, fights and politics don't help the work of the people [inside the team].

"But on the drivers' side, Max should win. On the team side, I don't think so. I really believe McLaren can win the championship."

As to whether he felt internal politics can destabilise a team, particularly after driving for an outfit like Ferrari, Massa replied: "It doesn't help.

"Every fight, every politic inside a team doesn't help. I'm not inside the Red Bull team. I cannot say exactly, it's just things that you hear. I don't know exactly everything, but it is not helping."