The 20 -year period of Christian Horner as director of the Red Bull team has come to an end. The 51 -year -old pilot was fired on Wednesday morning, and the Austria headquarters issued a brief statement confirming the news.
Horner was in command of the team since its foundation in 2005, reaping great success throughout its two decades in command. In total, he achieved eight victories in the pilot championship and six in the builders.
However, in the middle of the current season 1 season, it seems unlikely that Red Bull competes for any of those awards. The four -time world champion, Max Verstappen, has only won two races so far this season and is 69 points from the current leader of the pilot championship, Oscar Piastri.
The support to Verstappen since the second row of the team has also been practically non -existent. Liam Lawson was fired after only two races of the season and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese pilot has had worse results than his successor, ending last in his last two races.
However, according to Craig Slater, by Sky Sports, after Horner’s dismissal there were additional complaints, such as the low performance of Red Bull on the track. The veteran journalist described three key reasons to say goodbye to the veteran boss.
The internal struggle for power in Red Bull harms Horner’s position.
The former Chief lost the support of key figures.
While Red Bull is of Austrian origin, 51% is Thai property. Slater said that Horner used to have the protection of the Thai business, but that it had disappeared in recent months. This seems to pave the way for the direction to pronounce and proceed to the dismissal of Horner.
Slater explained: “49% of the company belongs to the Mateschitz family [Mark Mateschitz] and this Austrian family generally controlled the various sports projects of Red Bull, in particular the F1 team. 51% is Thai property of Charlerm Yoovidhya, who had previously firmly supported Christian Horner during several scandals in the company that involved an employee].
I understand that the support has disappeared and that Christian Horner could no longer count on him, which leaves him vulnerable to the Austrian part of the company, which was looking for a change. ”
Clashes with Max Verstappen and other key figures
Horner had an awkward relationship with the star pilot.
In recent weeks, rumors have circulated that link Verstappen with a possible transfer to Mercedes, and it is said that Max is unhappy with the driver of Red Bull and Horner’s leadership. His father, Jos, has not hidden his displeasure for Horner, keeping discreetly remote. of the races last season to avoid possible conflicts with the then chief of Red Bull.
The team has also suffered several important exits from the technical team, including that of the chief technical director Adrian Newey and that of sports director Jonathan Wheatley. Slater believes that the desire to retain Verstappen and avoid new personnel outings could have forced Red Bull to say goodbye to Horner.
Another aspect of this is the tense relationship between Horner and the Verstappen, particularly with Jos Verstappen, Max’s father. Jos had spoken last season about the possibility that Horner’s leadership in the team would disintegrate him. In the last year, approximately, several high profile people have left the team.
Damage to the Red Bull brand
Horner is not a popular figure among F1 fans.
While Horner has led great success in Red Bull, the constant pressure on time in recent years seems to have not sitting good to the company, which values a solid public image.
A mentality of winning at all costs can be the best to obtain results, but does not translate well into the general public. Once Horner’s performance on the track began to decline, the questions about its general impact on the brand were inevitable.
“The image is very important for Red Bull. Remember, after all, they only sell a drink. Have they lost the image of the carefree brand that won and had fun [with Horner]? They have given the impression of being a quite unsatisfied team in recent years. In fans surveys, they are always among the last ones in terms of teams they like, so that could have influenced.”
