How the Horner saga has cost Red Bull their championship-winning 'MVP'
How the Horner saga has cost Red Bull their championship-winning 'MVP'
"The hottest love has the coldest end."
So wrote the philosopher Socrates and the prophetic Greek's words could not ring truer when it comes to the current miserable episode we're witnessing with F1's best team.
Since Christian Horner became embroiled in off-track scandal, something just hasn't been right for Adrian Newey and now the aerodynamic genius will seek to apply his talents elsewhere - a brutal loss for Red Bull.
Reports have confirmed that the Horner saga -- which has dominated the narrative despite Newey producing another rocket ship set to provide a third consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship double for Red Bull -- as the reason that the 65-year-old wants to go.
Few could blame him after his outstanding work in his role as Chief Technology Officer for the Milton Keynes-based team threatens to be undermined by matters not relating at all to racing.
READ MORE: Red Bull design guru Newey to LEAVE team over major F1 scandal
Is Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull?
Newey, will leave Red Bull -- likely at the end of the current season off the back of a fourth consecutive drivers' title for Max Verstappen -- but it could have been so different.
Red Bull had choices. Everyone knows that there's been a colossal internal power struggle since mercurial founder Dietrich Mateschitz died in 2022 but that cannot legislate for the team failing to identify that they were about to lose F1's most valuable talent and acting accordingly - or worse, knowing they would and deciding to let matters reach that same conclusion.
Horner, for all he has been team principal since the Red Bull's inception and is very much the identifiable face of the team, is not going to build a car capable of winning titles. Newey, on the other hand, has been making a living out of doing for decades.
After building the RB19, one of the best Formula 1 cars of all-time which carried Red Bull to a historic season last year where they failed to win only one grand prix out of 23, Newey has delivered another ridiculously imperious machine once again.
READ MORE: Star driver POACHED from F1 team in long-term deal
This time, he really took the biscuit by taking the concept the team's biggest rival, Mercedes, fumbled horribly with; repurposing it his own way; and delivering a car which smashes its rivals once again.
He is the MVP of the sport, the person who can take a team from being ordinary or just above average to being a team capable of delivering race wins and championships.
Horner, on the other hand, is a man who is dealing with a lot from a personal standpoint and whose job is made exponentially easier by having Newey's hardware powering his drivers.
What next for Horner and Newey?
Regardless of the denouement of the situation with Horner, who now faces the prospect of the female employee within the team that accused him of 'inappropriate behaviour' presenting evidence before a leading English KC (King's Counsel) lawyer, Red Bull will be worse off for losing their guru.
In the current market, he is irreplaceable and no amount of resource can account for his midas touch and boundless imagination when it comes to design.
Even worse for Horner and Red Bull, they may have to come up against him working with a rival - just in time for the regulation changes entering 2026 and that is something they may well live to regret.
READ MORE: F1 announce FREE US TV channel for fans
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey quotes classic film in F1 future update
- 2 uur geleden
Norris reveals personal change after first F1 victory
- Today 19:00
Norris admits TEAM-MATE frustration in victory
- Today 18:00
Miami Grand Prix SMASHES ESPN record with huge numbers
- Today 17:00
Hamilton hits new F1 low after Miami as UK has new star
- Today 16:00
Verstappen admits surprise positive of Trump F1 visit
- Today 15:00
F1 Race Calendar 2024
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP USA
3 - 5 May
Lando Norris
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
- GP CANADA 7 - 9 Jun
- GP SPAIN 21 - 23 Jun
- GP AUSTRIA 28 - 30 Jun
- GP GREAT BRITAIN 5 - 7 Jul
Newey quotes classic film in F1 future update
Newey opens up on TRUE reason for stunning Red Bull departure
Kravitz admits amazement at Newey win in Red Bull exit
F1 boss reveals Newey talks at Miami Grand Prix
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860
Realtimes | Publishing Network
Copyright (©) 2017 - 2024 GPFans.com
Realtimes | Publishing Network