F1 insider wants Horner 'role change' after Verstappen blunder

A Formula 1 pundit and former Ferrari general manager has suggested that Christian Horner should take up a new role within the Red Bull family, following a disastrous Spanish Grand Prix.

Peter Windsor has suggested that Horner should instead take up a role as sporting director with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, rather than the team principal role that he has held since 2005.

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Jonathan Wheatley held the role as Red Bull's sporting director between 2006-2024, but it is unclear whether that position has been directly refilled since his departure to become Sauber's team principal.

Windsor has suggested that the circumstances that led to Max Verstappen's controversial move on George Russell which caused the Dutchman to get a 10-second time penalty may not have happened had Wheatley still been in his post.

A Red Bull call to pit Verstappen behind the safety car in Spain, despite the fact he only had hard tyres left in his garage, led to frustrations for the 27-year-old, and he eventually let those boil over with the move on Russell.

"Don't judge him [Verstappen] too harshly," Windsor said in a video on his YouTube channel. "He's already been punished, and now just celebrate what Max showed in a race car, until Red Bull ruined it with the most ridiculous call in the history of bad strategies.

"I wonder who made that decision. The engineers also keep an eye on the strategy. Jonathan Wheatley wouldn't have let this happen, but maybe Red Bull don't have anyone left who can take on that role.

"If they don't have a replacement for Jonathan, then Christian Horner should take on that role."

Horner's Red Bull career

Since taking over the reins at the energy drinks giant-owned team when they entered F1 in 2005, Horner has won six constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships with the team.

He has been the boss of some incredible racing talent, including Daniel Ricciardo, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and, most recently, Verstappen.

Wheatley was not the only key member of the Red Bull team to leave in 2024, with design legend Adrian Newey also deciding to jump ship as the team's dominance over the rest of the field began to wane.

2024 was also a tumultuous time for Horner, being accused of alleged inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague, allegations he denied and was cleared of by an internal Red Bull investigation.

On top of all that, Red Bull surrendered the constructors' crown they had claimed in the previous two seasons in 2024, and following a dismal couple of weeks, they now sit fourth in the 2025 constructors' championship.

READ MORE: F1 stewards side with Max Verstappen after George Russell incident at Spanish GP

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