Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull Racing on Wednesday, and Max Verstappen may soon follow. Whilst the team have enjoyed great success in recent years, a reset may be just what the team needs.
Horner was given the boot following Verstappen’s ‘final stand-off’ with Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, who ultimately agreed to fire the long-standing team principal.
F1 fans are expecting Verstappen’s exit next, with the rumour mill suggesting a once-unlikely partnership with Toto Wolff over at Mercedes.
With Yuki Tsunoda also facing the chop from Red Bull at the end of the season, it raises the question of “is a total reset of the team what they need to move forward?”
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Red Bull need to sort out the performances of its second driver
The results of Verstappen’s team-mates since Red Bull returned to their championship-winning ways has been the elephant in the room for some time now.
Since Pierre Gasly took over from Daniel Ricciardo in 2019, the four-time World Champion has won exactly 60 races. The only teammate to beat him to the top step of the podium was Sergio Perez, and that only happened on three occasions.
The Dutchman’s influence on the development of the car is no secret, with Verstappen preferring a much more sensitive front-end on the car to allow him to reap the rewards of his aggressive driving style.
In the four consecutive years that Verstappen ended up being crowned as the Drivers’ Champion, Red Bull won the Constructors’ Championship only twice due to the difficulties of who he’s matched up against.
With a neutrally developed car paired with the valuable inputs of both drivers who will be at the wheel of it, Red Bull could expect more consistent results between their drivers and still put up a good fight in the season-long championship battle.
Former F1 designer doesn’t think Red Bull’s success was down to Horner
In the wake of Horner’s exit from Red Bull, writers from The Race offered their verdict on the move by the Austrian constructor. Former F1 designer Gary Anderson felt like “the writing has been on the wall for about 18 months now,” adding “now that success has gone, what is there left?”
“I didn’t like it when he started to say Red Bull’s success was all down to him,” he continued. “And that they wouldn’t miss Adrian Newey; that was just a silly statement.
“Yes, I might be a little bit biased, but no team principal is more important than the technical chief and the technical team he has around him.”
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However, Anderson believes that the move was made during an ultimatum involving the Verstappens: “The Verstappen relationship – both father and son – had soured over those 18 months, so to have any chance to hold onto Max for much longer, something had to be done.”
Only time will tell if the 27-year-old will be racing in Red Bull colours next season, with reports that Mercedes have given the ‘green light’ to Verstappen’s demands.
