New Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, appointed in the wake of founder Dietrich Mateschitz's death, has openly criticized Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Wolff, for his part, is openly pursuing Max Verstappen, seeking to lure him away from Red Bull during the company's ongoing leadership struggles and amid controversy surrounding Christian Horner.
"I understand the pressure that Toto Wolff and perhaps other teams are under after years of being second to none," Mintzlaff expressed to Bild am Sonntag during a rare Formula 1 paddock visit.
"But I think Mr Wolff should concentrate on his challenges," he continued in Miami. "He has enough of those. It is also a matter of respect to keep talking about other teams' personnel."
"That is not appropriate," the German executive emphasized.
Zak Brown, CEO of the Mercedes-aligned McLaren team, disclosed in Miami that resumes from Red Bull staff are widely circulating within the paddock.
"Of course he wants to stoke the fire," triple world champion Max Verstappen commented on Brown's suggestion of a Red Bull staff exodus following Adrian Newey's departure.
"It's probably part of the game, but I'm not into that," Verstappen stated. "I saw the headline on the internet, but I didn't even click on it."
"Everyone is obviously attracted to our people. That's pretty normal."
The Times has reported that Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull's longstanding sports director, might also be contemplating a move.
"Of course you never know what will happen in the future," Verstappen remarked. "Many agreements are in place within the team, but ultimately it's important that everyone is happy with his or her work and also feels appreciated."
"There are a lot of human aspects involved."
Regarding Mintzlaff's involvement, Verstappen expressed his approval.
"I have a good relationship with Oliver," he noted. "He is not always here at the races, but of course he sees everything. And when he is there, like here in Miami, he naturally gets questions about it." body check tags ::
