Even family members are now wading into the campaign of derision aimed at Red Bull in the wake of the budget cap controversy.
Matthew Syed, a journalist for the major British newspaper The Times, lashed out at the energy drink-owned team after the Mexican GP, insisting Lewis Hamilton was “robbed” of the 2021 title.
He also called Christian Horner “delusional”, “graceless”, and “a loser”, and slammed the Red Bull team boss for claiming team members’ children were bullied at school over the budget cap saga.
Syed accused Horner of using “bullying and mental health to deflect from his own rule-breaking”.
“If there are mental health issues at Red Bull as a result of their rule breach, the responsibility lies with them and them alone – not with those who have criticised them,” he said.
Amanda Newey, the wife of famous Red Bull technical boss Adrian Newey, hit back hard at Syed on social media before apparently deleting the post.
“What qualifies you to judge me, my husband or any member or family member of Red Bull’s mental state?” she asked Syed.
“When you get a year of abuse and you don’t even work for the team, it wears you down. Provoking the fans with toxic journalism adds to the problem,” Amanda, an ‘insight officer’ for Swim England, said.
Despite Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s dominant success in 2022, it has been a notably tumultuous period for the Milton Keynes-based Formula 1 team.
For instance, the finalisation of the team’s budget cap penalties were initially delayed for the death of Red Bull owner and founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
“There is a lot happening in Red Bull now in strategic and political terms,” Dr Helmut Marko admits.
“There are issues that need to be clarified within the company in connection with the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, but this should not affect the sports component.
“Nothing has changed for the team,” the 79-year-old Austrian insists. “We are preparing to win the remaining two races and judging by the speed and reliability that we have demonstrated recently, we have a good chance.”
(GMM)
