Horner and Newey reunion a painful reminder of what Red Bull have lost

On the eve of the anniversary of Christian Horner's shock sacking as Red Bull team principal, he and former F1 colleague Adrian Newey reunited.

The duo sat together in the star-studded Wimbledon crowd on Wednesday, watching on over Centre Court as British wildcard Arthur Fery stunned with an impressive performance that earned him a place in the semi-finals after beating Flavio Cobolli.

The former Red Bull stars were joined by racing legend David Coulthard among others including Amanda Newey, wife of the F1 design genius, who shared snaps of the group on social media where Horner and Newey were a picture of happiness.

But whilst the duo may be beaming as they bask in the British summer sunshine, Red Bull don't have much to smile about.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA boss issues Horner statement as Newey returns to Red Bull

Horner and Newey reunion highlights Red Bull gloom

So much has changed since Newey opted to end his time with Red Bull in favour of a new challenge at Aston Martin, where he now juggles the roles of team principal and managing technical partner.

Despite a rough start to life with the Silverstone outfit, Newey has found time to show off his final creation with Red Bull this week, taking to the iconic Goodwood Estate on Thursday to drive his RB17 hypercar.

Though Horner's attendance at the legendary Goodwood Festival of Speed hasn't been confirmed for this year, you can't help but get the feeling that Red Bull's best representatives are those who no longer work for them.

Even Helmut Marko (who supposedly retired last year) still keeps in contact with Verstappen and the many other stars of the Red Bull driver pool, whilst the four-time champion also admitted at the British Grand Prix last weekend that he still speaks to Horner 'almost every week'.

Seeing Newey and Horner, the two masterminds behind Red Bull's glory years, back together almost a year to the day that Horner was removed from his position at the helm of the team has served as a painful reminder of what the energy drink giants have lost since then.

Have Red Bull lost their identity in F1?

The Milton Keynes-based squad now run by Laurent Mekies are nowhere near the top three teams in the constructors' championship, and star driver Max Verstappen is currently languishing down in P7 in the drivers' standings.

What's worse is that with so many big names from the Horner era either out the door or heading for it, Verstappen appears to be unconvinced that committing himself to the team on a long-term basis is the best decision for his career.

Reports are swirling that the 28-year-old is just about ready to activate his early exit clause due to his frustration with the car and his championship position, whilst Red Bull's upper management are said to be growing increasingly irritated at his reluctance to make a decision.

Horner and Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen famously didn't see eye to eye during the Brit's time as team principal, but even with Horner gone there are still reports of a stressed relationship between all parties involved in Max's contract.

Red Bull's glory days are far behind them and it was Newey's exit that kickstarted the exodus of talent.

The team that once bored fans with their dominance and the man that made headlines just by stepping into the British GP paddock last Sunday have moved on, but ironically, the chips may fall in Horner's favour after their split, not Red Bull's.

READ MORE: Horner setback as route back into F1 'a dream' and not reality

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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