The father of Max Verstappen, Jos, had previously warned the media that Red Bull would tear itself apart because of Christian Horner. Since the start of the year, there has been news about an internal turmoil at the Austrian outfit. Who’s behind all these turmoils and disruptions? Everything hints at one person, and that’s the team principal of the Milton Keynes team. However, it seems so weird and sudden because the reigning F1 champions have had the same team boss since its inception. Starting to race in 2006 and winning their first constructor title in 2010 was just the beginning of Red Bull’s dominance.
Then, it continued till 2013, as Mercedes took over the hegemony in 2014 and was the top team until 2021. Later, in 2022, the shift happened as F1 introduced the new cost cap era that saw the Austrian team come back to dominance once again. Two members of Red Bull have remained constant throughout the years – Adrian Newey and Christian Horner. But even the design chief announced his departure from the Milton Keynes team next year. Even in the case of performance, the reigning champions are struggling as of late.
Why Is Christian Horner Responsible For The Downfall Of Red Bull?
It started with a complaint against the Red Bull boss that shook the F1 grid. Early this year, a female employee of the RBR team accused the team principal of “Inappropriate behavior.” Following the allegation of “Sexual misconduct,” Jos Verstappen blamed Christian Horner for tearing the team apart from within. Later, in response to his father’s comments, Max Verstappen mentioned, “My dad is not a liar.” There were several rumors that suggested the team was divided into people in favor of Helmut Marko taking charge of the team and people who wanted Horner to remain at his original position. However, even in early of the season, Red Bull did not suffer in terms of their performance. The Dutch racer extended his lead with seven wins already this year. However, things have started changing since the Chinese Grand Prix.
Both McLaren and Mercedes are able to match the pace of Red Bull all of a sudden. Lately, Verstappen lost at the Dutch GP when he was 22 seconds slower than McLaren’s Lando Norris. It was a humiliating loss at his own home circuit. Max Verstappen has told the team boss several times this season that the development of RB20 was going on in the wrong direction. Apparently, the team didn’t take his suggestions because they were still leading in the Driver’s as well as Constructor’s titles. Hence, it seems they didn’t contribute anything to the speed of RB20. As a result, there was a huge gap between Norris and Verstappen in a track where Red Bull generally had its domination.
Perhaps The Departure Of The Current Team Boss Can Prevent The Downfall
In several sports, there is a tradition that once a chief executive fails to perform, they must step down. Generally, in the case of soccer, managers step down when the team is not performing as well as expected. They don’t stick around thinking they can turn the tide and say, “It’s good for the club.” Even in F1, team bosses of Ferrari and Alpine have set examples where they left due to underperformance. The highest bosses of a team can ask the team principal to leave when they don’t perform as well as they want them to.
Perhaps it is time for Red Bull to find a way to restart with a new principal. It can do the team some real good if they are able to find someone as the new team boss in whom Max Verstappen has a lot of faith and confidence. Only time can tell if the Thai owners of RBR feel the same way about the need for a fresh restart. As per rumors, Horner and the Thai owners, who are the major stakeholders of the team have an excellent relationship.
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