Formula 1 is still reeling from the abrupt dismissal last week of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, and like many former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner was baffled by the decision, but especially by its odd timing which he labeled as “very off”.
It was announced last Wednesday, out of the blue, that Red Bull had relieved Horner of his duties after two decades at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based outfit during which it won eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles.
Steiner, who worked alongside Horner during Red Bull’s early days in Formula 1, believes the dismissal points to deep internal tensions – and perhaps to a new development that remains hidden from public view, for now.
"This came completely out of the blue"
"I worked with him over a year in the beginning,” commented the Italian on The Red Flags podcast. “We started almost together. He started one month before me. So, yeah, I was pretty surprised as well when it happened.
"I mean, you know that there was something going on at Red Bull. I think we all were aware of it. We cannot say 'oh we didn't know that something was going on' because it's more than a year now since we had the whatever it was called — that scandal in the beginning of last year.
Christian Horner and then Red Bull technical director Guenther Steiner in Barcelona in 2005.
“It wasn't happy days anymore at Red Bull, I would say, but I didn't expect it. I mean, if something like this happens, normally Red Bull is pretty good in managing it a little bit with a gliding path or something.
“But this came completely out of the blue, to me. Obviously, maybe not at Red Bull, but I think nothing was out there that it will happen. You know, things change and things move on.”
Timing Feels “Very Off”
While speculation continues to swirl about what may have triggered the sudden call, Steiner found the timing particularly odd given the proximity of F1’s summer break.
"It's very off because you've got only a few races before the summer break, and normally you do it in the summer break," he noted.
"People shut down. This is done a few days after a race. So it is off as you say, the timing of it and I guess they had some disagreement about something, whatever it is.
"We will find out, we just have to wait a little. But, it's very off how it happened.”
Verstappen Influence?
It’s been suggested by many pundits that Red Bull’s decision to remove Horner is directly linked to the energy dink company’s broader effort to retain star driver Max Verstappen, whose contract runs until 2028 but includes a performance clause allowing for an early exit under certain conditions.
Tensions between Horner and Verstappen’s father, Jos, have been public since last year, when the latter warned that Red Bull would “explode” if Horner remained in charge.
©RedBull
Steiner speculated that Verstappen’s camp may have played a role in the decision.
“It could be that Max put that as one of the things he wanted, you know, it’s a weird thing for a driver to say ‘somebody has to go so that I stay’,” Steiner said.
“It is never set as clear as this because then you really fire at somebody, and as the world best F1 driver, you shouldn’t have to be doing that.
"But maybe they jumped to the conclusion and said if we want to keep Max something needs to change and we let Christian go. Because obviously, as you said, Jos [Verstappen] and Christian — obviously they didn't see eye to eye on quite a few things, I mean it was publicly known and publicly played out.
"So that's never good for either — for the team, nor for the driver. Max always kept out of that, very smartly.
“So maybe the management at Red Bull said if we want to make Max happy to keep him, we have to do something, and obviously, do you want the best driver in the world? Yes, he comes at a price.”
Despite the internal strife, Steiner recognized Horner’s contributions to Red Bull’s success.
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