There’s been a lot of chatter in the Formula 1 environment about Adrian Newey‘s potential future with Red Bull. Reports suggest that Newey recently expressed regret about rejecting offers from Ferrari during an interview on the Beyond The Grid Podcast. This has sparked rumors about a potential move to the Prancing Horse. However, contrary to earlier speculation, recent reports paint a different picture. According to F1 insider.com, it’s suggested that after breaking the strong friendship with Christian Horner, Newey will now stay with Red Bull.
The speculation about Newey leaving Red Bull gained momentum following hints from Joe Saward. The British F1 journalist hinted at a potential agreement that could lead to Newey leaving Red Bull if Christian Horner were to depart from the team. However, it’s now believed that Newey will remain loyal to the team regardless of Horner’s fate.
The reports read, “The bond of friendship is now said to have been broken. Newey has therefore already placed at Red Bull that he remains loyal to the world champion team even without Horner.”
With Newey reportedly committing to staying with the team, it poses a challenge to Horner’s position. This is because Horner doesn’t have ownership shares in the team, and recent updates from Red Bull also suggest there’s a power struggle underway.
Will Christian Horner’s rumored power struggle with Helmut Marko cause him to leave Red Bull?
In the past two decades, Christian Horner has been a pillar at Red Bull, leading the Austrian team to all the success they have achieved so far. However, despite his significant contributions, he is merely an employee of the team. Therefore, severing ties with him would likely be a straightforward task for the organization.
The real question, however, is whether Red Bull would be willing to dismiss one of its prominent team members. This seems doubtful because of the power struggles and instability within Red Bull post the demise of the founder of the brand, Dietrich Mateschitz. According to reports, Horner wanted increased authority within the team.
This coincided with Helmut Marko’s xenophobic remarks about Sergio Perez’s cultural background. During that period, Auto Bild conducted its own investigation, suggesting that Horner was allegedly plotting a coup with Red Bull’s Thai majority shareholders, who owned 51% of the shares. Amidst this turmoil, Bild revealed that Max Verstappen could prevent Marko’s dismissal.
Although later all Red Bull personnel denied this claim, reports now suggest that the same power struggle has resurfaced. Multiple sources indicate that there is currently a power struggle between Horner and Verstappen’s camp, with Marko being involved.
This conflict primarily revolves around Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner. The duo’s relationship has rumoredly soured over the past few months. Furthermore, Verstappen has also reportedly expressed his allegiance to his father and Marko.
The main controversy around Horner involves allegations of inappropriate conduct against him towards a Red Bull staff member. This has prompted Red Bull GmbH to initiate an internal investigation against him. As the investigation is due to happen on February 9th, Friday, there have been reports of Horner getting the advice of stepping down from his position as the team principal.
