A growing rift has emerged between the Verstappen camp and Red Bull.
Amid Max Verstappen’s troubling run of reliability, the 19-year-old left the Baku circuit without speaking to the media last Sunday and could subsequently face a EUR 25,000 penalty.
It came amid rumours of interest from Ferrari, who are yet to sign either of its current drivers for 2018, despite Red Bull’s insistence that Verstappen is firmly under contract.
One suggestion is that Verstappen is trying to deliberately breach his contract.
Adding fuel to that theory is Verstappen’s fiery father and co-manager Jos.
On Twitter, a F1 reporter linked to a story that quoted Red Bull boss Christian Horner as saying Verstappen’s current frustration is "through no fault of the team or the effort the team is putting in".
Jos replied: "Bullshit".