Red Bull in Turmoil: Horner Faces Schumacher's Stark Warning
Apr.29 - Red Bull is "falling apart" under Christian Horner's leadership, warns former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher.
Amid widespread reporting that Adrian Newey has told Red Bull Racing he wants to leave the team before the end of 2024, his next move is now the subject of the latest wild speculation.
Huge-money offers are rumoured to have been made by Aston Martin, Ferrari and perhaps even Mercedes - amid f1-insider.com's latest claim that Max Verstappen is set for post-Miami GP talks with top Mercedes figures.
Involved in those talks will be Toto Wolff, Max's managers Jos Verstappen and Raymond Vermeulen, as well as Mercedes shareholders Jim Ratcliffe and Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius.
A package worth an incredible EUR 150 million per year for Verstappen, 26, is said to be on the table.
"Verstappen and Newey - will Red Bull lose them both?" Corriere dello Sport newspaper in Italy wonders.
Schumacher told Sky Deutschland: "Adrian Newey needs harmony, a good atmosphere - a workplace. And at the moment, you have to say clearly: Red Bull is falling apart.
"Christian Horner bears sole responsibility for this," the former F1 driver added. "He is clinging to power with all his might.
"I give Red Bull two more years and if they continue to hold on to Horner, the team will sink into mediocrity. I'm pretty sure of that," Schumacher said.
Former Ferrari driver Ivan Capelli thinks Newey is "unlikely" to choose Ferrari over a UK-based option, but he warned: "If he does come, it will be because he can bring some of his most loyal colleagues with him."
According to top Dutch F1 journalist Erik van Haren, meanwhile, what the latest Newey and Verstappen rumours suggest is that all is not well at Red Bull despite the recent appearance of calm amid the power struggle and turmoil.
"Even those who fanatically declared that everything is fine again at Red Bull must now change tactic," he wrote in his De Telegraaf column.
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If they “sink into mediocrity “ they will have Ralf and Toto for company.
Christian Horner has taken Red Bull to numerous victories and championships, and when you are on top, as Red Bull currently is, there is only one way to go, and that is down!
If Newey and Horner both abdicate, it will certainly mean Red Bull is in a nose dive to the lower grid placings!
But if Red Bull fall , who can we realistically see as the next multi year wcc as of today , for me none of the others are consistent enough, to be classed as the perennial bridesmaid in f1, but of course nothing lasts forever, a lesson the Germans and Austrians have struggled to grasp for many years
IMO the prolonged periods of dominance that have seen single teams reign over many years has led to F1 becoming rather boring and predictable. Let's wind the clock back to the 70's and 80's, when it wasn't so predictable and championships were not so easy for one team to dominate.
It's true that there have always been times when one team and driver have been above the rest, but now it's getting rather ho-hum and less inspiring. We need a change!
you dont subscribe to the f1 team point of view that "They are doing a good job and its upto us to catch them " then , because thats all we seem to hear from them
Exactly, Shroppy. If the others spent less time and resources on rhetoric and propaganda in an attempt to justify their position, then they may find the key to real improvement!