Red Bull CEO responds to Schumacher: 'No one looses sleep over him'

The turmoil that is constantly being reported Red Bull Racing is in: that was the setting for yet another scintillating performance by Max Verstappen under the Saudi Arabian lights, as the Dutchman flew to pole position ahead of what are vastly perceived as superior McLaren and Mercedes cars.

The German businessman doesn't have a grim outlook whatsoever, despite the constant noise that surrounds Red Bull. In fact, he addressed the rumours surrounding a potential exit of 4-time world champion Max Verstappen from the Austrian team's ranks, which would be triggered by Red Bull's lack of performance compared to its rivals, an assessment Mintzlaff doesn't agree with.

"We're third in both the drivers' and constructors' championships. The gap between Max and leader Lando Norris is only eight points. Nothing is lost. Anyone who writes us off in the title race is making a mistake," the German says in an interview with Bild.

"Anyone who knows Red Bull knows that we have an extreme hunger for titles. It's clear that we're not the hunted at the moment. It was a bad start, but I'm far from questioning everything," Mintzlaff added, issuing a vote of confidence to team principal Christian Horner's leadership of the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Ralf Schumacher during Sky Sports Germany's F1 podcast stated Red Bull Racing would lose Verstappen should their Imola upgrade fail to yield the expected gains and solutions to the RB21's issues.

Furthermore he was very critical of team boss Horner and claimed the environment within the racing team was not at all what it should be, and that another crisis meeting would take place ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Mintzlaff now replies to his fellow German. "I have a good relationship with Ralf. He does his job and we focus on ourselves. But no one has to worry that we at Red Bull have sleepless nights because of his statements."