Former FIA steward and F1 driver Johnny Herbert has predicted a “difficult period” for Red Bull Racing following the abrupt departure of CEO and team principal Christian Horner. Herbert also highlighted Max Verstappen‘s links to Mercedes, suggesting that is where he is “probably going to end up.”
Red Bull dropped a bombshell on Wednesday by announcing Horner’s immediate exit after a 20-year partnership. Former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies has replaced Horner.
However, Herbert has hinted that the sudden move could affect Red Bull even more, given its struggles on the race track. For the first time in the current ground effect era that began in 2022, Red Bull hasn’t been leading in any of the two championships.
Herbert revealed that Horner’s exit was imminent. He linked Red Bull’s decision to an incident that came to light early in the 2024 season, when Horner was accused by a female colleague of inappropriate behavior.
This was something that even Red Bull’s 2026 power unit partner, Ford, was reportedly not happy about and sought answers from Horner. Horner denied all allegations, and a few months later, Red Bull cleared him of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation. However, the incident caused differences between Horner and Max’s father, Jos Verstappen.
This was followed by reports of an internal power struggle within Red Bull. These events could have played against Horner, especially when Red Bull missed out on a constructors’ championship win last year due to balance problems on the RB20 F1 car, which the team could not entirely address. Addressing Horner’s exit, Herbert told RacingNews365:
“Well, I think it’s not a surprise, I don’t think anybody should be surprised.
“It was something that when it first kicked off, I remember the Ford motor company weren’t exactly very happy with the rumours that were going about at that present time. He’s hung on for a good period of time, but I think it was something that was never going to go away.
“And when it doesn’t go away, it’s never a good thing to have that sort of thing hanging around your neck. But there’s also, is it anything to do with Max? Because, obviously, Jos was very vocal, and not wanting Christian about. Potentially, I suppose it could be that.”
Herbert highlighted that, considering Mercedes’ interest in Max and the struggles at Red Bull, the four-time world champion could eventually sign with Mercedes. Notably, Jos is a good friend of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. Herbert said:
“It sounds very much so, that the Mercedes thing is where he’s probably going to end up. So, it’s probably not a surprise everything with Christian anyway.”
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Given the high-profile exits from Red Bull since mid-2024, especially Adrian Newey, who designed Red Bull’s dominant cars, and challenges with the current RB21, Herbert predicts turbulence for the Milton Keynes-based team, something that Jos and Max won’t be happy about. He added:
“Now, it’s going to be a really difficult period for them [Red Bull], because obviously, with all the changes, with Jonathan [Wheatley] and Adrian [Newey] and a few other people, and of course, with Christian as well.
“It’s in a very precarious position at the moment, because, like anything in Formula 1, you’ve got to be able to have the right ingredients, which includes personnel, direction, and that’s all been slowly, sort of eroded away.
“And then you’ve got the performances on the track at the end of the day, and a probably not so happy Max, definitely not a happy Jos, but it’s probably not a happy Max.
“Because Max, as you know, wants to be in a situation of winning races and a world championship, and that sort of, again, slowly, sort of eroded away over the last, what, year and a half, I guess.”
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