Huge Christian Horner mistake uncovered as Max Verstappen effect sparks downfall
Christian Horner listens intently to Max Verstappen at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix at Monza
Christian Horner’s lack of a “proper number two” contributed to Red Bull’s decision to sack him last month.
That is the claim of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has quipped that Horner ultimately suffered from the same problem as lead driver Max Verstappen.
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Horner was dismissed by Red Bull in the aftermath of last month’s British Grand Prix, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies installed as his successor as chief executive and team principal.
The 51-year-old’s exit marked the end of his two decades in charge at Milton Keynes, having been appointed Red Bull boss ahead of the team’s debut season in 2005.
Ralf Schumacher, the former F1 driver, recently highlighted the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022 as a key turning point in Horner’s tenure, resulting in the team principal gaining “a lot more power” than he had previously enjoyed.
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Schumacher’s claim was echoed by Martin Brundle, the Sky F1 pundit and a close friend of Horner, who claimed Red Bull’s senior management in Austria had become keen “to take back control” against Horner’s wishes.
Media reports in the days before Horner’s departure claimed that Verstappen’s camp had been pushing for Horner to be replaced or have his power within the team significantly diminished, potentially through the appointment of a figure to share his responsibilities.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the time, however, Verstappen himself denied all knowledge of a potential plot by his entourage to oust Horner.
Brundle initially pointed the finger at ‘Team Verstappen’ in the aftermath of Horner’s dismissal before later insisting that “it wasn’t the Verstappens” behind it.
However, Brundle did suggest that Verstappen had the power to block the sacking of Horner and “presumably chose not to” intervene.
Ecclestone believes Horner’s situation ultimately ended up mirroring that of Verstappen, who has lacked a dependable wingman since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of the 2018 season.
The 94-year-old believes the lack of a so-called ‘Plan B’ counted against Horner in the final reckoning at Red Bull.
Ecclestone told F1 Destinations: “It was a bit like a marriage that ended in a divorce.
“After Didi Mateschitz’s death, people inside Red Bull had ideas about the leadership and direction of the team that did not favour Christian.
“He did a very good job but he was viewed, just like Max Verstappen, as someone that did not have a proper number two.
“It is hard to criticise someone who is winning races and championships.
“But there was no Plan B in case something went wrong with either Christian or Max.”
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Long-serving Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley was widely regarded as a potential successor to Horner prior to his departure from the team last summer.
The former Benetton/Renault mechanic was named team principal of Sauber last year, starting work with the soon-to-be Audi F1 team in April after a period of gardening leave.
Wheatley has since overseen an impressive turnaround for the Swiss-based team, which ended its 13-year wait for a podium with Nico Hulkenberg’s third-place finish at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which also proved to be Horner’s last race in charge of Red Bull.
In an interview last month, Wheatley revealed that an article published by a British newspaper on the weekend of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, claiming that he was considering his future at Red Bull and had approached rival teams over taking a senior role, triggered the chain of events that led to his exit.
The article in question was published just days after Adrian Newey, the F1 design legend now of Aston Martin, announced his departure from Red Bull.
Wheatley told RN365: “I’ll be honest with you, there was an article that came out in Miami last year.
“I wasn’t happy.
“I had a very, very low media profile at the time – on purpose – and then suddenly my name was in all the papers, which created a difficult situation at work.
“But there were then a lot of approaches and you start thinking about it [leaving] then, because people are obviously very interested in where you could be.
“I guess also my mindset there was, [that] I’d signed a lock-in contract and I would honour that from start to finish.
“I’m not the sort of person who signs a contract and then tries to wheedle my way out of it because there’s a slightly different offer.
“When I commit to a team, I commit to it.
“Sixteen years at Benetton/Renault, 19 years at Red Bull – and I have no intention of leaving here [Sauber/Audi] either – so that opened up a lot of conversations with many teams.”
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