Yesterday at 13:00
Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger has raised the theory that the
departure of Christian Horner at Red Bull was done to protect the
services of Max Verstappen. It was announced on Wednesday morning
that Horner and Red Bull had parted ways after over 20 years
together, in which the Briton led the outfit to six constructors'
titles and eight drivers' championships. However, it was deemed
that change was required, with Laurent Mekies having been promoted
to replace Horner as team principal and CEO. Horner's exit fell at
a similar time to intensifying rumours linking Verstappen to a move
to Mercedes, with Berger wondering if this was tied to the change
of team boss. "That could certainly have been one of the factors
that tipped the scales," Berger told Krone Zeitung . "Because as
we know, the Verstappens and Horner were not the best of friends. I
do think Max will stay at Red Bull." For some, the timing of
Horner's exit has come as a surprise, given two races still remain
in Belgium and Hungary before the summer break. However, Berger
believes there were already signs that a big change was on the
cards for the Austrian outfit. Asked if the timing of Horner's exit
surprised him, Berger answered: "You could see it was going this
way at Red Bull Racing. "If Horner was really surprised, that's a
bad sign, because even as an outsider you could have guessed it."
Despite the change of leadership, Berger still rules Verstappen out
of the drivers' title, with Mekies target being to "rebuild the
team". "It's much more about stabilising the whole team at the
moment and getting Max Verstappen back into it properly," said
Berger. "Red Bull Racing is currently in a downward spiral. Now
the goal should be to rebuild the team properly."
