“I don’t think he acted responsibly” with the TV ban
Christian Horner was responsible for his own demise at the top of Red Bull’s Formula 1 operations.
That’s the clear view of former F1 driver and regular Horner critic Ralf Schumacher, just over a week after the energy drink’s CEO told the 51-year-old the bad news.
Horner’s long-time friend and ally Bernie Ecclestone said the Briton had behaved like an “idiot” with his extra-marital behaviour with a female staffer.
Schumacher believes Horner mishandled his push for extra power in the wake of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death late in 2022.
“I think that with the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, everything changed,” he told formel1.de.
“Suddenly, he’s had much more power and, in my opinion, he behaved differently than he had in previous years. That’s what went wrong for him,” said the German.
“There was a lot of fuss because attention shifted away from the team and focused solely on him. And during that time he couldn’t work optimally,” Schumacher continued.
Schumacher revealed recently that Horner “black-listed” both him, as a television pundit, and the Sky Deutschland team, following criticism.
“I don’t think he acted responsibly,” Schumacher said. “He should have left to deal with the situation and return when everything was cleared up.”
Red Bull’s demise under the Horner reign has resulted in several key staff departures – and the next could be devastating.
Max Verstappen is clearly contemplating a tempting offer for 2026 and beyond from Mercedes, hypothetically leaving Red Bull with a team totally built around the Dutchman and with a car any other driver struggles with.
“I don’t think the car was designed for Max,” former Haas boss Gunther Steiner told Business of Sport. “The car is what it is, but the only one who can drive it is Max.
“I think people are trying to find an excuse for Max’s success, but he’s so damn successful because he’s so incredibly good,” he added.
“The other guys try to do what Max does, but they can’t. He’s incredibly talented and he’s better than anyone else,” Steiner said.
“He works hard and puts in more effort in the simulator. He also drives GT cars in his spare time. What other driver does that?”
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