Zak Brown’s Prophecy Appears to Come True as Christian Horner Faces Massive Betrayal From Within Red Bull

When it rains it pours. This phrase seems to fit quite well with the current situation at Red Bull Racing as the news of Adrian Newey’s departure has others questioning their future in the team as well. And this is a situation that Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing saw coming. The announcement from Red Bull that Adrian Newey will leave the team in early 2025 prompted Brown to suggest that Newey’s departure could be just the start of a series of exits from Red Bull.

But it’s not just Zak Brown, earlier in the season after the Bahrain Grand Prix, the father of Red Bull star driver and reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, also said something similar. Jos Verstappen said that as long as Christian Horner, who was the subject of an internal investigation for improper behavior toward a female employee, remains in the team, there is a risk that the team will explode. And apparently, all the prophecies are starting to come true.

According to The Times, Jonathan Wheatley (56), who runs the team behind Red Bull’s lightning-fast pit stops, is also considering leaving the team. Wheatley has aspirations of becoming a team principal in the future and has started to explore opportunities with other teams on the grid. And this is happening exactly as Zak Brown had predicted.

When the news broke out that Newey would leave Red Bull Racing in 2025, Zak Brown commented, “I think the stuff that’s going on there, it’s a bit destabilizing; probably [Newey is] the first domino to fall. My guess is it’s not the last based on the résumés that are flying around. We’ve seen an increase in CVs coming our way from the team.”

While there are clear signs that things are not going smoothly behind the scenes at Red Bull Racing, the team did address the rumors of Jonathan Wheatley leaving. Red Bull has clarified that Wheatley, who has been with Red Bull since 2006, is a crucial member of the senior team and is currently in negotiations for a new contract.

Red Bull hits back at Zak Brown for his speculations of CVs flying around in the paddock

There have been reports suggesting that the departure of Adrian Newey which fueled the comments from Zak Brown stemmed from his discontent with the supposed power struggle within the team that came to light after Horner’s investigation saga. However, a Red Bull spokesperson recently made it clear that there is no unrest within the team as key members of the leadership have already signed long-term contracts.

Addressing the comments from Zak Brown ahead of the qualifying session on Saturday, the spokesperson said, “In the past few months, all of our technical leadership team have signed long-term contracts committing to Red Bull Racing. So we’re not sure what CVs Zak is referring to. We don’t foresee any significant loss and certainly not the domino effect that Zak is hoping for.”

Do you think Jonathan Wheatley will sign an extension with Red Bull or he has made up his mind to leave the team? Let us know in the comments down below.