The commotion currently caused by the ‘Christian Horner case’ could, according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, cause Max Verstappen and Adrian Newey to leave Red Bull. According to Schumacher, Red Bull must return to calm as quickly as possible if it wants to keep its key figures.
Red Bull may have achieved a double victory during the Bahrain GP, but according to Ralf Schumacher, Red Bull clearly did not celebrate too exuberantly. There is clearly unrest in the team and that is not good for the future.
“It goes without saying that Max Verstappen was not very enthusiastic after his victory,” Schumacher told ‘Sky Germany’. “The smear isn’t over yet. Everyone has to apologize to each other or someone has to leave. In this case the damage to the brand is enormous.”
“There is so much commotion. I can imagine Verstappen saying he is going somewhere else. The structure of a team is very fragile. When something like that happens at Red Bull, everything can collapse very quickly.”
According to Ralf Schumacher, there is also a chance that Adrian Newey will leave the team. According to Schumacher, Newey is someone who just wants to build fast cars in silence and who does not want to be in the spotlight, let alone get involved in such commotion.
“Before I lose Newey and Verstappen I would try to find a solution. Calm must return to the team,” said Schumacher.”
According to various rumours, Max Verstappen is even linked to a possible switch to Mercedes. After all, next year the race seat of Lewis Hamilton will be available there, who is leaving for Ferrari. Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff responded by stating that to become champion you must have the fastest car.
“Red Bull has the fastest car and I think that will always be the priority,” said Wolff.
The cards in the F1 game have clearly been shuffled, but the outcome of the game will have to be determined in the coming days, weeks or even months…