‘More at play here’ claim after Christian Horner’s shock Red Bull exit

Former F1 presenter and reporter Will Buxton has claimed there is “more at play” behind Christian Horner’s sudden exit from Red Bull.

Horner was sacked from his position as team principal and CEO with immediate effect on Wednesday after 20 years in charge of Red Bull, having led the Milton Keynes squad to eight drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ world titles.

The decision left the F1 world stunned, and has prompted a host of theories and speculation surrounding the exact reasoning and timing of Horner’s departure.

"I mean, wild in terms of the impact and in terms of the magnitude of it and yet not wild when you think of the last 18 months. And I think for a lot of people, there would be the question of why this hasn't happened sooner and probably a lack of surprise that it has happened at all,” Buxton told The Fast and The Curious podcast.

"The big shock is Christian, for the longest time, has been Red Bull. He's the only team principal that team has ever known. He has led them through the good times, through the bad times for 20 years. So, it has to be more than a simple drop-off in performance.

"They've been there before. They've been through this before. So, there must be more. And there is more at play here. And I think that's obvious to everyone.”

"These things are usually rumoured. There's usually chatter and talk within the paddock. So, the fact that it was on nobody's radar will be... what is the big surprise here?

"I mean, look, where do you want to start? When Christian started out in Formula 1, he played the game incredibly well. He was and has always played the politics of Formula 1, perhaps better than anybody over the last 20 years.

“He aligned himself very early on with Bernie Ecclestone and that was a very key decision that he took and a very key and influential ally that he had in those early years.”

Several factors behind Horner’s dismissal

Buxton believes a combination of the scandal surrounding Horner, Red Bull’s declining form, and uncertainty over Max Verstappen’s future were ultimately behind Horner’s dismissal.

"The fascinating thing with this is because it happened so soon, there's no official word about why this has happened. And so everybody is coming to, I think, the same conclusions, which is that there may be a number of factors in this,” he explained.

"One is the fall-off in competition, and that fall-off in competitiveness for Red Bull comes not on the basis of another team doing better but quite simply the huge exodus of people over the last two seasons from technical roles moving to other teams.

“You know, Rob Marshall left to go to McLaren, Jonathan Wheatley left to go to Sauber. They've lost Adrian Newey to Aston Martin.

"Did Christian replace those people with the right people? Was there the succession plan in place to keep Red Bull at the top? Arguably not, because the fall-off has been dramatic.

"There's Christian's own personal problems over the last 18 months. Well documented. And obviously not talked about as much as they could have been because of the nature of them and how litigious it all became. A lot of feeling at the time that would have led to his downfall, but he always had the Thai ownership on his side. What's changed? Why are they no longer on his side?

"And at the base of all of this, over the last 18 months, has been this swirling talk that actually the people that wanted Christian out more than anybody were the Verstappens.”

Did the Verstappen’s push Horner out?

One theory is that Red Bull were given some kind of ultimatum from the Verstappen camp, whose relationship with Horner had soured in the past 18 months following a public feud between Horner and Verstappen’s father, Jos.

Buxton reckons “politicking” has played a role, particularly as rumours linking Verstappen with a switch to Mercedes intensified in recent weeks.

"I put a tweet out saying there is politicking in this because for me, the Max-to-Mercedes thing doesn't weigh up. It doesn't make sense because I don't think they'd want to get rid of George [Russell], and I don't think they want to get rid of Kimi [Antonelli]. And if you do get rid of George and you put Max alongside Kimi, the prospect of destroying Kimi is vast,” he added.

”There are risks in employing Max. So, where have these rumours come from? And I believe there was some politicking in it because ultimately Toto isn't Christian's best friend. It's interesting that suddenly Christian's gone. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there have been negotiations behind closed doors.

"'Max, what will it take to keep you here at Red Bull?’ 'Oh, it's quite easy actually. Could you get rid of Christian?’

"'Of course, Max, whatever you want.' And it's done. Look, we don't know. We don't know what it is. But the fact that any one of those elements could have been what led to his downfall is the fascinating thing here."