Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner BLAME claim made as exits pile up

Christian Horner, Red Bull, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull Turmoil

Horner BLAME claim made as Red Bull exits pile up

Red Bull have faced a number of high profile exits in 2024

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 8 October 2024 10:57

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Christian Horner has been involved in a Red Bull blame claim, as the Formula 1 team’s exits pile up.

The 2024 season has thrown up various challenges to the world champion Milton Keynes-based outfit, both on and off the track.

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At the beginning of the year, team principal Horner was accused of alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female colleague, which prompted an internal investigation into his conduct.

Following a probe and an appeal, Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing, and remained in his position at Red Bull.

Christian Horner was embroiled in controversy at the start of the season

Red Bull's on-track performance has declined in 2024

Can Red Bull recover from their performance decline?

However, their issues have persisted on-track, with Red Bull’s performance declining as their rivals have gained an advantage in 2024.

Coupled with major exits from Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, Jos Verstappen, father of champion Max Verstappen, has slammed Horner on a regular basis, even blaming him for the key departures. In a recent interview, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has countered Verstappen’s views and stated that these recent staff exits should not be blamed on Horner.

"I think when people have worked together successfully for so long, they want to improve their own position," he said to Sky Germany.

Ralf Schumacher does not believe Christian Horner should be blamed for Red Bull exits

"But then there is no room for that in the existing environment. If they get financially interesting offers from outside, they start looking for something new.

"So I wouldn't associate this purely with Horner.

"[Late Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz] held those strings from the top down and always made it clear from the top down how things would go.

"That factor is definitely missing now. I think the team misses that and Horner misses that.

"Horner is someone with incredible experience and someone who does a great job, but he's also someone who, looking at last year, maybe was also a little bit overrated when he was left on his own."