F1 Rumor: Christian Horner Receives Full Support From Majority Red Bull Stakeholder; “Cannot Be Kicked Out” Reveals F1 Insider

Since the passing of Dietrich Mateschitz, the entire Red Bull F1 team has been in turmoil, internally and publicly. The power struggle within the camp began when we heard rumors of Helmut Marko facing suspension. However, once those rumors quickly subsided, Christian Horner came in the line of fire. The British boss fought and won his battle but at the cost of the entire team’s trust. Now, as he fights to win the team’s trust back, reputed British journalist Joe Saward suggested he will do all the time in the world to do so.

The 62-year-old F1 veteran gave some insight into the internal politics within the Austrian team. While discussing the matter on the Missed Apex Formula 1 podcast, he revealed how Red Bull is divided into two fractions, if not more, and luckily for Horner, the more powerful fraction backs him.

Saward said, “To understand the problem you need to understand one important thing and that is that Red Bull is not one organization anymore. Red Bull is at least two, and maybe more.” 

To this, the host said, “The warring fractions are crazy in Red Bull. We can’t trust any official statements because we don’t know which camp, which side, it’s coming out from.”

Saward replied, “Well, I don’t know if you can’t trust them but you just don’t know which side it’s coming from. So if there is an investigation going on at Red Bull you don’t know which side is investigating. But the important point is that Christian Horner is supported by the Thai ownership which has 51% of the shareholdings in Red Bull, and therefore he has the power and he supports Christian, therefore, Christian cannot be kicked out by the intermediate body between the two of them which is Red Bull GmbH in Austria, where Mark Mateschitz the heir of Dietrich Mateschitz, has 49%.”

There you have it folks, Horner is not going anywhere. At least, according to Joe Saward. However, let us give you another perspective and you can decide for yourself which opinion you agree with more.

Dutch cyclist puts Christian Horner on the expendable list amidst the ongoing drama

Every organization, team, or institution has a list of expendable and untouchable members on their list. For many, being the oldest serving and one of the most successful bosses on the grid Horner would be on the latter list. However Dutch former professional cyclist, Niki Terpstra believes, because of his good work at Red Bull, the team will operate smoothly with or without the Brit.

Discussing the possibility of Horner leaving, he said, “It’s difficult to say, Horner is perhaps the most successful team boss on the grid at the moment. Still, I don’t think it will be a huge problem for Red Bull.”

In fact, he even discussed his successor on the team. “I think that the roles below have also been filled very well in that team. I understand Jonathan Wheatley may take his place. Look, he has been a wish of Horner for years and I will not be surprised if he takes on that position quite easily,” he added.

With both opinions in front of you, what do you think will happen with Horner? Additionally, after fighting for his reputation like he has been for the last two months and possibly for a few more, will he stay if his name is cleared of all charges after all investigations? These are tumultuous times at Red Bull and no one knows what’s in store.

Read More: Christian Horner Saga Brings Statement Out of FIA about Reported Complaints