Red Bull's 1-2 finish in Jeddah sparked rumors that Christian Horner could be sacked by the company before the next round of the championship.
German media reports suggest Red Bull could release Christian Horner before the Australian Grand Prix amid ongoing controversy surrounding him and the team.
Speculation emerges that Christian Horner will be sacked
Christian Horner was denied an investigation by Red Bull almost two weeks ago, and since then there has been a lot of unrest surrounding relations within Red Bull's team.
In Bahrain, Max's father Jos Verstappen called for Horner's head after the grand prix, saying the team would explode while the Brit remained at the helm of Red Bull Racing.
Days later, a Red Bull Racing employee who aired complaints about Horner to the team's parent company in Austria was suspended. This followed their evidence failing to withstand scrutiny and being dismissed, and the BBC reported that the suspensions were made for the following reasons: The employee's testimony is dishonest.
Red Bull GmbH is currently conducting an internal investigation into the events of recent weeks. An employee of Red Bull GmbH has spoken out about numerous leaks of information purportedly obtained from the investigation to the media, including anonymous emails containing unverified information sent to hundreds of senior F1 officials and the media. Red Bull Racing consultant Helmut Marko told Austria's ORF that it was theoretically possible. He too will be suspended before the next race.
This led to heightened tensions over the Saudi Grand Prix weekend, with Marko leaving the paddock on Thursday and arriving on Friday accompanied by CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, the businessman in charge of GmbH's Austrian interest in which he holds a minority stake.
As the triumvirate of Red Bull GmbH's powerful figures Mintzlaff, Franz Watzlawicz and Chalerm Juvidjah allegedly took place in Dubai on Sunday, German media reports suggest Juvidjah's position on Horner has changed. suggests that it did.
On behalf of the majority shareholder of Thailand's GmbH, which owns a 51 per cent majority, Yuvidya announced his support alongside Horner on the grid ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
According to F1-Insider.com's Ralf Bach and Motorsport Total's Christian Nimmervoll, Thai shareholders have now agreed with the Austrian side to separate from Horner, and the main topic of the meeting will be Horner. The purpose is to discuss the future of
Reports say Horner has “lost a power struggle” at Red Bull and could be released before the next race in Australia.
However, a well-informed source told PlanetF1.com that suggestions that Horner could be removed from his role as team principal are “nonsense”, “rumour-mongering” and “useless gossip”. .
When contacted for comment, a Red Bull Racing spokesperson told PlanetF1.com: “As Christian has said, he appreciates the full support of his shareholders and that continues to be the case.” Ta.
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Speaking to Sky F1 after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which saw another 1-2 finish for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Horner spoke to Sky F1 about the ongoing situation, which involves so many key figures from across the racing team and the company. talked about.
“Obviously, a lot of things are being made like this,” he said, denying there was an ongoing battle for control.
“But we are a team, and no one is bigger than our team. This team is made up of more than 1,400 people across different organizations, and everyone has a role to play. From the bottom to the top, we would not be able to achieve this performance without their performance.
“Unfortunately, there's obviously a lot of speculation going on this weekend, but again, our focus remains on track.”
Asked about comments over the weekend that Marko may be at risk of suspension from the company, and Verstappen's subsequent insistence that Marko's departure would not be good for his future at Red Bull, Horner said: took on a defiant attitude again.
“First of all, Helmut is a consultant for Red Bull.” [Red Bull Racing’s parent company] So whatever the discussion is, it's between them and not with the team,” he explained.
Read next: Has Red Bull come to an uneasy truce after the conclusion of the Christian Horner investigation?
