15/07/2025 08:20
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed the message he sent to Christian
Horner following his surprise dismissal from Red Bull. Horner was
removed from operational duties as Red Bull CEO and team principal
five days ago [on July 9] after 20 years at the helm, in which he
guided the team to 124 wins and 14 championships in total.
Clarkson, the former Top Gear and The Grand Tour host, is a
familiar face within the F1 paddock and has explained, using '
Snakes and Ladders' the message he sent to Horner. He also
evaluated where he believes the former Red Bull chief will move to
next, along with delivering a major warning for the team now led by
Laurent Mekies. "I sent him a text after the news of his dismissal
broke, pointing out that I've been in his shoes in the past,"
Clarkson wrote in his column for The Sun , referring to his
dismissal from the BBC in 2015. "I explained that when you wake the
following morning, it's easy to think, 'Well, that's that then',
but in my case, that wasn't that. I hadn't trodden on a snake. I'd
trodden on a ladder." As to the options for Horner, Clarkson feels
one particular move is definitely not on the cards. "The clever
money is saying he'll go to Alpine," added Clarkson. "But next year
they will have Mercedes engines, which means Christian would have
to work with Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff, and as those two really
don't get on. I can't see that happening. "Ferrari? Possibly, but
that would mean upping sticks and moving to Italy, and dealing with
[Lewis] Hamilton. "Audi is coming into the sport next year, and
Cadillac. There's talk that the Chinese are making F1 noises, and
all of them would jump at the chance of getting Horner. "The thing
is, though, that as I proved after the BBC let me go, you don't
necessarily have to do what you were doing before. I became a
farmer. "So on that basis, Horner might re-emerge in a couple of
years as an astronaut, or in an ice-cream van or as a Foreign
Secretary. "And Red Bull? Well, look what happened to Manchester
United when [Sir Alex] Ferguson was no longer at the helm. "On that
basis, this once-great team may well end up, in a couple of years,
in Formula 4."
