2024-03-03 20:40:11
There is currently no calm at Red Bull. Ralf Schumacher sees a great danger for the future of the racing team – and talks about the possibility of a spectacular change that would shake the premier class.
Formula 1 expert Ralf Schumacher sees a sensational change in the making as a consequence of the current unrest at Red Bull: As a result of the chaos surrounding the allegations against team boss Christian Horner, world champion Max Verstappen could move to arch-rival Mercedes.
“Yesterday we had an interview with Toto Wolff (Mercedes team boss, editor’s note), who explicitly said: ‘Everything is possible’ – for me that means: They are already in negotiations,” said Schumacher on Sunday morning on Sky. “And that’s Plan B if everything falls apart.”
In fact, Mercedes is still looking for a successor to record world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will drive for Ferrari in the coming season. A commitment from Verstappen would probably once again overshadow Hamilton’s move, which was already seen as a sensation – and send shockwaves through Formula 1.
“That’s already planned”
The successful racing team is currently not resting. The focus is on team boss Horner, who faces unspecified allegations from an employee. The Briton was only acquitted by Red Bull last Wednesday. On Thursday, however, an anonymous email was sent to all Formula 1 team bosses, the Formula 1 management and numerous journalists. Content: alleged “evidence” for Horner’s misconduct, screenshots of chat histories and photos (read more about this here).
No coincidence for Schumacher – the former driver shares the assumption that Horner should be driven out of office. “It must be a huge group of people. That’s already planned. This incident (the allegations against Horner, editor’s note) was a long time ago, even if that doesn’t make it any less bad. Then this mailing list – there There were email addresses on it for the most important people in Formula 1. You have to get them first.” Schumacher’s conclusion: “This is a classic political murder.”
Red Bull is split into two camps: “There is a Thai side (51 percent of Red Bull is owned by the Thai Yoovidhya family, editor’s note) and an Austrian side. The Austrian side wanted to draw conclusions straight away because it was just very “It’s about the Red Bull brand and it could be seriously damaged.” The team’s partners also wanted a change. “Ford was one of the first partners to say directly: We want transparency. But this transparency has only taken place in part,” criticizes Schumacher.
“It is no longer tenable”
After the Bahrain Grand Prix, which Verstappen won ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, you could see: “Everyone who used to stand together was separated. The Thai part stood with Christian Horner, Dr. Helmut Marko with the rest. Jos Verstappen (Max’s father, editor’s note) was also rather close to Marko.” This is a fatal development: “The danger is quite simply that some parties now want to leave and look for new things, new teams, new tasks,” says Schumacher.
Only one decision is correct: “Christian Horner is now required to really draw conclusions. If you can see how the mood is against him, I believe that he is no longer tenable and should resign in the interests of the team.” The Thai owners should now also realize: “It makes no sense to hold on to Christian Horner.”