Christian Horner has been the team principal of the Red Bull F1 team since 2005. No one else has been the team boss of the Austrian outfit ever since it started racing in Formula 1. Coming to 2024, this team has become the most successful F1 team since 2005 in terms of race wins. But that’s not all Horner’s credit. The genius mastermind behind the cars has been Adrian Newey. Then, there have been the different eras of great drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. From 2010 to 2013, the German great was the most dominating racer.
Then came the period starting from 2022 and continuing to the present day, when the Dutch racer has been unstoppable. Moreover, the engine partner, Honda, deserves a lot of credit as well. However, it won’t change the fact that Christian Horner has been running the team all these years. Lately, Ralf Schumacher, former F1 driver and brother of the great Michael Schumacher, claimed that Red Bull will fall dramatically in the next two years if Horner remains in the same position.
Why Ralf Thinks Red Bull Will Lose Its Dominance In The Next Couple Of Years?
Ralf Schumacher believes Red Bull’s hegemony will plummet if Christian Horner remains at the top of the Austrian outfit. Recently, in an interview with Sky Sports, Ralf mentioned that it is quite clear that “Red Bull is falling apart.” For that, the brother of Michael Schumacher blames Horner for holding on to his power in every way he can. On top of that, Ralf said it is a matter of a couple of years, then the Milton Keynes outfit will “Sink into mediocrity.” Schumacher believes Red Bull should remove Horner in the next two years. Moreover, the debate around Red Bull losing its grip on the title started very early this year with a female employee accusing Horner of “Inappropriate behavior.” For a long time, other teams were demanding “Transparency” regarding Horner’s case. However, there was an internal investigation with no transparency.
Finally, the parent company, Red Bull GmbH, and the investigating officers cleared Horner of any wrongdoing. They even fired the female employee. Later, people could hear a rumor about a power struggle at the Red Bull camp. Apparently, Helmut Marko might want a higher post that Horner is a favorite to win. After all, he has gotten backing from the majority shareholders of Red Bull’s parent company. The Thai shareholders would like Horner to continue at the Austrian outfit. Since then, rumors about Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen leaving the Austrian team have been hot topics in F1. In fact, Max’s father was one of the first ones to blame Christian Horner for tearing the team apart.
What Did Jos Verstappen Say About Christian Horner?
Before Ralf Schumacher brought up the issue, after the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix, Jos Verstappen spoke to the Daily Mail about Horner’s influence in tearing the team apart. According to the current three-time champion’s father, Horner is the reason why there is tension within the team. Moreover, Jos said as long as Horner is in position, Red Bull is in “Danger of being torn apart.”
He talked about a possible explosion in the team. Jos added that it can’t go on like this. Moreover, Jos noted that Horner is playing the victim when he is the root of all the problems that have been happening. After Jos made this outburst in front of the media, Max Verstappen said one very interesting thing. Max said, “My dad is not a liar.”
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