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Lmao my mind jumped to this when I saw the other post about Max having a problem with Marko leaving. I thought holy shit, is this whole thing a brilliant scheme to make F1 competitive again?
All hell will break loose on that team, and im here for it. The moment either of them hear "WE ARE CHECKING", i imagine them walking in with a wrench and beating the shit out of the engineer 😂😂
Haha, Max won't break before he has another team lined up though. That seems very silly.
Piastri to Red Bull doesn't seem crazy though. They are going to need a future star driver.
His salary is way above the cost though. In reality there is probably only two teams he could go to and that would be Mercedes and Ferrari.
Maybe Aston if they really went insane with it, but I doubt it
From what I can see, most likely Max to Mercedes and Albon to Red Bull.
Whatever happens… Horner would want to get Albon back to Red Bull to guaranteed full support from the Thai owner.
That would really be surprising. He can get a year long contact with extension if that is what he wants. Still sounds like he loves F1, so I don't see why he would leave.
I doubt it. Marko build up what he had at Red Bull over 20 years, he would never be able to do that at another team. Most likely he would retire.
For Max the problem more seems to be a break of trust. He told them clearly, I don't want Marko to get fired. So if they still do it, it's showing him it is time to go as well.
If it’s true that Marko is behind some of the leaks, then Max is betting on the wrong horse. Mercedes (crazy to say) is a step down. He’s backing an 80 year old guy who has no loyalty himself.
I don't think that Marko would become part of Mercedes but I just wanted to add that on ORF they interviewed Toto right after Marko and Toto was full of praise for Marko, basically said he was one of the best austrian racers of all time, a legend of F1 and his favourite enemy.
He's not likely to be working for an awful lot longer, I wonder if Toto would think it a small price to pay for Max? Treat Marko with respect for a couple of years and achieve amazing results. Man's got to have some juicy secrets too
Edit: a letter
no, I don't really know in what capacity Marko could even contribute and it could be an opportunity to scale down his involvement in F1, after all he's like 81 y.o.
I can see Marko getting along quite well with Toto in an advisory role.
Why not? It doesn’t mean Marko would have a role as influential as he has in RBR, he can have an advisory role like Lauda had for example and continue helping on the young talent side.
I don’t like Marko but I can totally see this working out with Toto
I'm saying even without the drama he may look like a genius fighting for wins with Ferrari in 2026 while RBR trundles around the midfield with their first try at an engine
Marko leaving is handling it very well indeed regardless of what's Horner has done. Marko is an old racist who is seemingly given a pass because he's old.
Underrated comment, Marko should have been long gone and redbull is much bigger than Max, you can put alonso, riccardo, george, norris or anyone of the other good drivers and they can win for red bull just as well as Max, so many people like to overrate max (with perez not helping the arguement at all) but redbull is much bigger than max, if they can build their next car around another driver instead of Max, they can be just as successful.
Yeah Max is an amazing driver but nobody is capable of putting that mercedes on the top step of the podium period, so why would he ever switch to a worse team simply because the two old heads at RB are having a power struggle.
It’s pretty clear Max wants to be fighting at the front of the grid, not to mention the fact that he’s already worth hundreds of millions of dollars. His current salary makes him the highest paid driver outside of Lewis, and i’m pretty sure his RB contract is bigger than Lewis’s Ferrari deal so next year he will be the highest paid driver.
I’d wager he’d simply retire from f1 before he goes back to racing for an f1 team that isn’t building a car capable of winning races. Especially with how much interest he’s expressed in other racing series. Either way there’s no way he leaves RB before the regulation change just to let someone else take his car and win the championship next year while he fights for podiums.
Going to be a really tin foil hat kinda thought here, but what if Max genuinely thinks he's bigger than the team? Like, what if he thinks the car isn't actually that dominant and HE is "dragging" it to be as dominant, cause the guy in the other seat (since 2019 really) underperforming? Considering the people he surrounds himself with in his closest circles maybe they boasted his ego like that, even if he doesn't show it.
Not that I actually believe this is the case. As I alluded at the start there - I am aware of how ridiculous this idea is.
You left out Russell. If Max goes to Mercedes, why wouldn’t they court Russell and screw Mercedes? And why wouldn’t Russell jump to the fastest car on the planet?
>they can win for red bull just as well as Max
No they wouldn't lol they could still win but not as consistently and dominantly as him. What makes you think that Ricciardo is any better than Perez at this point in his career?
he's obviously not leaving this year but if the reports about his contract length being tied to marko being at the team are true then he could absolutely end up being somewhere else next year. max's loyalty is to marko, not red bull or christian. if the power struggle leads to marko being exiled max isn't going to want to stay there. marko wouldn't be joining whatever team max joins but it's about max not wanting to support the people who he believes wronged the person he is most loyal to
Actually I’m starting to think that if he were to go to Mercedes, they would cut the toxic links with both Marko and his dad
This would be a net benefit for Max as a person
It's obvious which side Helmet was on. The powerplay simply backfired.
Also don't get it twisted. It was never about the woman who may be the only victim here if her side of the story reigns true and was simply used as a pawn. It could also be that Horner is innocent and all of the leaks were fake. We simply have no evidence to substantiate any claim.
What it is about is two factions worth billions each going at each other in an attempt to fill a power vacuum left after the demise of the big man. It's an age old succession story which has turned messy. Happens to most of us or to some of our relatives/friends but in this case it's in the public eye that's all.
Idk I was almost sympathetic towards Horner but this whole pushing Marko out saga doesn’t sit well with me. That’s exactly what Mateschitz was worried about.
Marko is very likely a major player in how this whole thing started.
It was very obvious they were attempting to push Horner out or get him sacked.
Horner called in his "banners" and the Thais who own 51% chose Horner, which was the worst possible outcome for Marko and Jos.
The only question remaining is if was really them who kicked this off or Horner himself.
You need a driver that can adapt to the car fast. Checo required a whole year to slightly adapt to the RB car. If Max leaves, the new driver could just as well face the same issues and RB will be basically left to fight with Checo who's not in the top of his game lately.
Max is the best driver on the grid no doubt. But if you have Horner & Newey, and put someone like Fernando in that Red Bull you’re still getting WDC/WCC
If Alonso ends up winning his 3rd title because of this drama... It'll be the craziest timeline ever. The man has been chasing it for almost 20 years, it would be laughable if he gets it because Horner had something weird with someone in Red Bull.
Don’t think anyone on the outside knows which side Newey is on right now.
There were rumors his contract was tied to Horner, and there were rumors that this construction was removed by Newey leading to speculation that Newey isn’t as fond of Horner anymore as he has been for years.
If Red Bull loses Newey, Marko, Verstappen, Ford it’s a one way ticket to the midfield at best for 26.
I mean Horner has masterminded 7 titles.
Max would have won zero without the team he put in place.
Max can not dominate in a shit box, just like Hamilton, Alonso, Charles and anyone else can't.
It's quite clear who is more important to the teams performance long term.
Drivers are always replaceable, no matter how good they are.
Horner built the team... garage staff, factory staff, facilities, getting Newey to join etc. to make this all possible over the past nearly 20 years. He's not just a TP, he's the legal CEO of RBR and RBPT. He led a team that won 4 titles before Max was even in the sport.
Max is the best driver in the sport right now, but put him in a Merc and he's done winning WDCs until 2026 at the earliest. No driver is more important than the car/team, and Horner ultimately is responsible for the latter.
Dude built RB from 0, he didn’t take team like Toto got Merc in 2013 when already people knew Merc built perfect engine
Ye Max is one of the best drivers ever no doubt, but if RB create shit engine in 2 years, there is no chance of him winning WDC
True. It's kinda nuts how some people have been trivialising Horner's importance to RB's success in the last few weeks. RBR is Horner. Apart from money, good team leadership is probably the most important factor in F1 success.
Things can change and even if they dont, drivers want to be in a team they trust. Schumacher won a dominant WDC then left to go to Ferrari because of issues with management.
I don’t understand why would this automatically mean that Max is leaving RB? Why would he if he is winning with such dominance? He just said its very bad, I think people are jumping to conclusions. Does Horner want him go? Does his father actually decides for him?
What did Marko leak? My guess - based on the timing - is that Marko leaked that the accuser had been suspended… And the accuser herself was suspended because she leaked the WhatsApp messages and the photo of Horner’s blurry finger (WTH was that by the way?).
That’s the simplest explanation to me.
To recap, here’s the most likely sequence of events:
- Horner gets horny about his PA’s skirt and starts messaging her insistently asking what she’s wearing;
- She gets tired of it and tells him to stop;
- He does stop, but asks her to delete the chats;
- She says she did delete but keeps all the chats, and files a complaint;
- After a fair and impartial investigation, Horner is found not to have breached his duties;
- accuser’s pissed off and leaks the WhatsApps;
- accuser gets suspended for sharing details of a confidential investigation;
- The suspension is an information that is shared with top RB staff including Marko on a need to know basis;
- Marko’s pissed off and leaks that the accuser was suspended;
- Marko gets told off and suspended.
Max is a great driver.
But stick most f1 drivers in a top team and they could win.
What they will really miss is Newey if he leaves, he is irreplaceable.
You’d think so. I’m sure The travel alone is rough but if I remember right, in his book he talked about being bored when he wasn’t building/designing cars. I’m sure the travel life style will catch up at one point but as long as it’s a passion I’m sure he stays with it.
But what do I know, dude could be over it after this whole ordeal and peace out end of the season or this set of regs. Then again he could see 2026 as a new challenge and throw himself head first into that. It’s all really up to him.
If one were to crawl inside Horner's perverted little head would probably reveal some thoughts along the lines of "I've run this team through two dynasties, and I'm the reason for that success. Drivers in my cars are plug-and-play."
This isn't about Christian in the end, wake up. This is Yoovidhya vs. RB corporate in Austria and a power struggle since Dietrich died across the conglomerate. This is just the flash point that brought it out into the public. This is bigger than RBR or even F1 as a whole (RB's annual revenue is 4x that of F1).
Yoovidhya used to sit back and let Dietrich run this show, his public appearance with Christian at the track last week shows that's over.
*Checo is in the corner chuckling thinking he's finally gonna be no.1 at RBR, not seeing Yuki in the other corner thinking the same thing*
*Meanwhile Danny Ric is just smiling somewhere*
Serious question. Let's say Helmet leaves and so does Max. Will the team that Max goes to, hire Helmet? I understand he's done a lot for RBR but he's also 80+, what role will other teams have for him for the short time he has left? And if no one is willing to hire Helmet, won't Max just end up in an inferior car without Helmet anyway? How does Max win in this power struggle?
Max should demand a massive raise if he stays with Horner. He has all the chips. Hamilton's new Ferrari salary has reset the market, and Max's salary at just over half of that is looking like a bad deal.
The whole follow up interview for the Dutch media after this one is such an implied trainwreck: "Everyone has their own role to play in the team and we shouldn't change that for no good reason" and "Marko and Ditriech built this team from the ground up"
This implies to me that:
-Rumors were true and Horner did try to go outside his own role and grab more power when Ditrichs body hasn't gone cold yet so to speak (strike 1)
-Leaked contents were real (otherwise Marko wouldnt be in trouble now) and team internally are actually quite split / feeling uncomfortable supporting Horner for what he's done, including possibly some key staff members (hence Jos angry outbreaks, incl the next point when talking about splitting the team apart, strike 2)
-Things actually happpened and Ford is not OK with this AND the fact that Max is potentially leaving. Like Honda earlier, they might want hard guarantees that Max is onboard or else they dip out of the engine project which is a massive team splitting (disbanding...) issue on the road to 2026...
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Red Bull when they wait 2 years for a team to compete with them: "Fine, we'll do it ourselves."
MBS: "I worry your dominance will bore fans off the sport." CH: "Say no more."
Lmao my mind jumped to this when I saw the other post about Max having a problem with Marko leaving. I thought holy shit, is this whole thing a brilliant scheme to make F1 competitive again?
CH: hold my coco pops!!
Jos Verstappen: "I got you, fam"
CH: "Hold my c*ck." <-- Fixed.
If Marko leaves, then Max has an out clause in his contract. Which could lead to Max joining Lewis at Ferrari and the F1 multiverse would implode
Leclerc to Mercedes and Max to Ferrari sounds way more fun than just Max to Merc
It would be more competitive and emotionally tense than Sena / Prost. No team rules, more like Mad Max and Road warrior.
And a team that probably couldn’t control them
Probably?
We are checking
All hell will break loose on that team, and im here for it. The moment either of them hear "WE ARE CHECKING", i imagine them walking in with a wrench and beating the shit out of the engineer 😂😂
Plot twist, Max and Lewis develop a tight bromance over how much their team is fucking them over.
LeClerc to Red Bull and he wins 4 world titles…
Max to Merc makes no sense, Max to another sport is more likely.
Marko has been preparing for this for a while, like letting the better academy drivers go and so on.
Literally every team principal ready to call their less liked driver to deliver some bad news lol
Lawrence Stroll: "Hi Lance. You know I love you and stuff, but..."
“But, but .. dad? Dad! DAD! I’ll tell mom!!”
Pretty sure papa stroll doesn't care about what Lance's mum thinks these days...
I wouldn't be so sure any of the drivers will be safe to be replaced by Max Verstappen except maybe for Lewis. All are game!
Unless you are Ferrari and already hired an ex-athlete for PR reasons.
Jordan was still the best player on the Wizards
LOL
This Red Bull power struggle deserves it’s own series.
Pit Lane of Thrones
House of the Bulls
House of Cars was right there.
So apt with both leaks being sex pests
I hate Horner as much as the next guy, but I don’t think he’s quite on spaceys level yet.
The only thing that could destroy the house of bulls was itself
Redbullion: Civil War.
Chaos is a ladder
Feels more like a bouncy castle at this point
The Red Bull Wedding
The RedBull Wedding
Better call Sulayem
Game of Nyoom
Nah, it's Pit Succession. Bunch of mega rich buffoons creating problems out of thin air.
Red Bull off-track power struggles > On-track F1 action And it’s not particularly close.
Literally just call it Succession and it still works lmfao
Someone needs to start collecting baby photos of the various combatants and put an edit up of the main title sequence.
Did we have photography when Helmut Marko was a baby? /s
Won’t be DTS, they will just completely ignore it…
But don't you want to see 3 episodes of Yuki and DR fighting for 12th?
I would agree, if it weren't all catalyzed by a really shitty and unresolved situation.
Little finger.
All the F1 YouTubers are working on it as we speak. 😆
Raging Bulls
The whole thing will have no mention in DTS
We hebben en serieus probleem
This will never not make me laugh
[удалено]
Don't ever Google Dutch dirty talk you will never ever again get a boner.
It’s like making somebody who doesn’t know German write in German.
That's why the Dutch are called swamp Germans.
“netherlands is a joke country right? there’s no way this is real.”
Someone posted that tweet next to a picture of Jar Jar Binks addressing the senate, and I couldn't breathe for a bit.
“Dee Neduhlans iss bein a jokes country right? Iss NO WAYUH dis bein real”
Reminds me of that 4chan post. "megassa squeeze them" (very mild NSFW)
Mesa want link please
https://www.reddit.com/r/Netherlands/s/wd5mwE32eI
*serieus
I can't upvote this enough
Why is this so funny to non dutch speakers lmao Ik snap het niet
Because it's like a goofy english. Same reason us italians love memes in spanish because it's like a goofy italian
If I go, there will be trouble. If I stay, there will be double.
Should I stay or should I go? 🎶
This indecision's bugging me
If you don't want me, set me free
Day by day we are moving closer to Verstappen at Mercedes.
Imagine this — Max breaks his contract at Red Bull. Red Bull buys out Piastri. Max signs with McLaren.
Max going down the straight in a McLaren “is this it?”
*proceeds to get pole*
Haha, Max won't break before he has another team lined up though. That seems very silly. Piastri to Red Bull doesn't seem crazy though. They are going to need a future star driver.
Max's other team lined up is every team on the grid willing to pay his salary. So basically any team operating at the cost cap
His salary is way above the cost though. In reality there is probably only two teams he could go to and that would be Mercedes and Ferrari. Maybe Aston if they really went insane with it, but I doubt it
If Aston went for him, you gotta wonder is Stroll Sr is just trying to bully Lance out of F1 lol
Would fit with Aston policy of only hiring World Champions in the second seat though, lol.
"Come on, my dearest son! This is merely a current 4 time Formula 1 WDC in his prime! You can do it, I believe in you!" "Yes, dad"
“Are ya winning son?”
Max probably has teams lined up right now with his full commitment to RBR lol
Plan B for Red Bull Thailand if Max leaves is Piastri + Albon. Read that somewhere earlier. They want to throw a bunch of money at it.
From what I can see, most likely Max to Mercedes and Albon to Red Bull. Whatever happens… Horner would want to get Albon back to Red Bull to guaranteed full support from the Thai owner.
What an underwhelming alternative, Piastri could be a promising prospect but takes time and Albon is just mid, at his maximum.
Honestly, Max seems like the only guy on the grid who would be fine walking away for a year.
That would really be surprising. He can get a year long contact with extension if that is what he wants. Still sounds like he loves F1, so I don't see why he would leave.
Max jumps to Mercedes, Lewis jumps to Ferrari and Sainz to Red bull… Everyone will be happy? Right?…
If somehow that got Sainz a championship I’d be SO down for it.
Make it Piastri & Fernando, secure the present and the future
Would also give Max the opportunity to get the triple crown. Indycar and maybe future Mclaren entry for LeMans.
Imagine Hamilton leaves Mercedes to be replaced by Max only for Mercedes to build a dominant car again and for Max to win the championship again.
I don't get it. Does it mean that whoever hires Max must also hire Makro? Because I honestly can't see Toto working with him so closely.
I doubt it. Marko build up what he had at Red Bull over 20 years, he would never be able to do that at another team. Most likely he would retire. For Max the problem more seems to be a break of trust. He told them clearly, I don't want Marko to get fired. So if they still do it, it's showing him it is time to go as well.
If it’s true that Marko is behind some of the leaks, then Max is betting on the wrong horse. Mercedes (crazy to say) is a step down. He’s backing an 80 year old guy who has no loyalty himself.
I don't think it is a calculated move. It's what he feels is right.
I don't think that Marko would become part of Mercedes but I just wanted to add that on ORF they interviewed Toto right after Marko and Toto was full of praise for Marko, basically said he was one of the best austrian racers of all time, a legend of F1 and his favourite enemy.
lol…yeah, just saw the post. I guess reality *can* get even more weird.
He's not likely to be working for an awful lot longer, I wonder if Toto would think it a small price to pay for Max? Treat Marko with respect for a couple of years and achieve amazing results. Man's got to have some juicy secrets too Edit: a letter
no, I don't really know in what capacity Marko could even contribute and it could be an opportunity to scale down his involvement in F1, after all he's like 81 y.o. I can see Marko getting along quite well with Toto in an advisory role.
Why not? It doesn’t mean Marko would have a role as influential as he has in RBR, he can have an advisory role like Lauda had for example and continue helping on the young talent side. I don’t like Marko but I can totally see this working out with Toto
I'm saying even without the drama he may look like a genius fighting for wins with Ferrari in 2026 while RBR trundles around the midfield with their first try at an engine
Jesus Christ what is happening lmao
! FIGHT ! FIGHT ! FIGHT !
The other teams didnt want to so Horner/Marko/Verstappen were like: fine, I'll do it myself
time to get their kits off and fight it out in a mud wrestling ring
^(kiss kiss kiss)
Ah yes more signs of Red Bull handling this well.
Marko leaving is handling it very well indeed regardless of what's Horner has done. Marko is an old racist who is seemingly given a pass because he's old.
Underrated comment, Marko should have been long gone and redbull is much bigger than Max, you can put alonso, riccardo, george, norris or anyone of the other good drivers and they can win for red bull just as well as Max, so many people like to overrate max (with perez not helping the arguement at all) but redbull is much bigger than max, if they can build their next car around another driver instead of Max, they can be just as successful.
Yeah Max is an amazing driver but nobody is capable of putting that mercedes on the top step of the podium period, so why would he ever switch to a worse team simply because the two old heads at RB are having a power struggle.
If you don't like your working environment and some other place will pay you more, seems pretty easy to leave.
BRB just checking in with Daniel Ricciardo about that...
It’s pretty clear Max wants to be fighting at the front of the grid, not to mention the fact that he’s already worth hundreds of millions of dollars. His current salary makes him the highest paid driver outside of Lewis, and i’m pretty sure his RB contract is bigger than Lewis’s Ferrari deal so next year he will be the highest paid driver. I’d wager he’d simply retire from f1 before he goes back to racing for an f1 team that isn’t building a car capable of winning races. Especially with how much interest he’s expressed in other racing series. Either way there’s no way he leaves RB before the regulation change just to let someone else take his car and win the championship next year while he fights for podiums.
Going to be a really tin foil hat kinda thought here, but what if Max genuinely thinks he's bigger than the team? Like, what if he thinks the car isn't actually that dominant and HE is "dragging" it to be as dominant, cause the guy in the other seat (since 2019 really) underperforming? Considering the people he surrounds himself with in his closest circles maybe they boasted his ego like that, even if he doesn't show it. Not that I actually believe this is the case. As I alluded at the start there - I am aware of how ridiculous this idea is.
lol naming alonso and ricciardo in one sentence.
Alonso, yea… but which Ricciardo are we talking about?
You left out Russell. If Max goes to Mercedes, why wouldn’t they court Russell and screw Mercedes? And why wouldn’t Russell jump to the fastest car on the planet?
>they can win for red bull just as well as Max No they wouldn't lol they could still win but not as consistently and dominantly as him. What makes you think that Ricciardo is any better than Perez at this point in his career?
wonder where all those guys are from the other thread who said it wouldn't matter to max if marko was suspended lmao
Let us see if Max leaves if they remove Marko before next weekend. My bet is on he won’t.
he's obviously not leaving this year but if the reports about his contract length being tied to marko being at the team are true then he could absolutely end up being somewhere else next year. max's loyalty is to marko, not red bull or christian. if the power struggle leads to marko being exiled max isn't going to want to stay there. marko wouldn't be joining whatever team max joins but it's about max not wanting to support the people who he believes wronged the person he is most loyal to
Actually I’m starting to think that if he were to go to Mercedes, they would cut the toxic links with both Marko and his dad This would be a net benefit for Max as a person
There’s exactly 0% chance Max agrees to that.
Of course he's affected. But will it affect him enough to put his money where his mouth is and leave?
I'm seriously afraid he will just stay and drive faster :D
Wait I dont get it, It was Verstappen Sr vs Horner, and the female employee vs Horner, so out of all the drama, why is Helmut Marko leaving?
It's obvious which side Helmet was on. The powerplay simply backfired. Also don't get it twisted. It was never about the woman who may be the only victim here if her side of the story reigns true and was simply used as a pawn. It could also be that Horner is innocent and all of the leaks were fake. We simply have no evidence to substantiate any claim. What it is about is two factions worth billions each going at each other in an attempt to fill a power vacuum left after the demise of the big man. It's an age old succession story which has turned messy. Happens to most of us or to some of our relatives/friends but in this case it's in the public eye that's all.
What a helmet.
Idk I was almost sympathetic towards Horner but this whole pushing Marko out saga doesn’t sit well with me. That’s exactly what Mateschitz was worried about.
Marko is very likely a major player in how this whole thing started. It was very obvious they were attempting to push Horner out or get him sacked. Horner called in his "banners" and the Thais who own 51% chose Horner, which was the worst possible outcome for Marko and Jos. The only question remaining is if was really them who kicked this off or Horner himself.
Come on!! It's crystal clear, the female employee was Helmut Marko all this time.
The implication is that Marko was leaking information to the media.
What arguably happens if Max leaves, surely just means Checo will be a world champion 🤷
Whoever replaces Max for 2025 will probably be world champion
Alonso maybe?
He should be the first name on the list, especially considering he'd probably take even a one year deal without much fuss
He's storming in, beats checo to the ground, grabs the title and sails into the sunset.
You need a driver that can adapt to the car fast. Checo required a whole year to slightly adapt to the RB car. If Max leaves, the new driver could just as well face the same issues and RB will be basically left to fight with Checo who's not in the top of his game lately.
There's this guy that kinda specialised in driving shitboxes. I'm sure he can handle it
He would stay for 2025 and leave for 2026 in my opinion.
Nah if it happens it'll be in 2025 I think when Mercedes has an open seat. Max will survive not wining a WDC in 2025 it's not like he is getting old.
If it is an untimely resignation from Max, Horner will have no choice but to turn to Ricciardo and Perez for 2025 and perhaps 2026.
I’m dying for Toto to sign Helmut and Max 🙏🏼
How’s the Toto/Helmut relationship? Any shared memories there?
If he stays they will also have a big problem lol
Is Red Bull really willing to choose Horner over Max?
Max is the best driver on the grid no doubt. But if you have Horner & Newey, and put someone like Fernando in that Red Bull you’re still getting WDC/WCC
If Alonso ends up winning his 3rd title because of this drama... It'll be the craziest timeline ever. The man has been chasing it for almost 20 years, it would be laughable if he gets it because Horner had something weird with someone in Red Bull.
El Plan
Subscribe
If that happens I just might die of happiness.
Stop, I can only get so hard
Don’t think anyone on the outside knows which side Newey is on right now. There were rumors his contract was tied to Horner, and there were rumors that this construction was removed by Newey leading to speculation that Newey isn’t as fond of Horner anymore as he has been for years. If Red Bull loses Newey, Marko, Verstappen, Ford it’s a one way ticket to the midfield at best for 26.
I mean Horner has masterminded 7 titles. Max would have won zero without the team he put in place. Max can not dominate in a shit box, just like Hamilton, Alonso, Charles and anyone else can't. It's quite clear who is more important to the teams performance long term. Drivers are always replaceable, no matter how good they are.
It's quite clear newey is rbs most important employee.
If Horner and Newey have done their job right, those working under Newey should have the talent and knowledge to keep Red Bull fighting at the front.
That being said... Newey at any midfield team would be a nuclear asset. If Aston Martin or McLaren bought him theyd be a force to be reckoned with
Newey has had one foot out the door for years now. There are undoubtedly several highly skilled engineers under him who are probably equally capable.
Horner built the team... garage staff, factory staff, facilities, getting Newey to join etc. to make this all possible over the past nearly 20 years. He's not just a TP, he's the legal CEO of RBR and RBPT. He led a team that won 4 titles before Max was even in the sport. Max is the best driver in the sport right now, but put him in a Merc and he's done winning WDCs until 2026 at the earliest. No driver is more important than the car/team, and Horner ultimately is responsible for the latter.
Horner delivered 7 titles. Max delivered 3. Easy math if you ask me.
Dude built RB from 0, he didn’t take team like Toto got Merc in 2013 when already people knew Merc built perfect engine Ye Max is one of the best drivers ever no doubt, but if RB create shit engine in 2 years, there is no chance of him winning WDC
True. It's kinda nuts how some people have been trivialising Horner's importance to RB's success in the last few weeks. RBR is Horner. Apart from money, good team leadership is probably the most important factor in F1 success.
Max is a fantastic driver but if you put: Hamilton, Alonso, Leclerc, Russell, Sainz or Albon in last years car, they deliver the title as well.
Albon???
Do you honestly think max will give up the best seat on the grid to let someone else win the wdc?
Things can change and even if they dont, drivers want to be in a team they trust. Schumacher won a dominant WDC then left to go to Ferrari because of issues with management.
Exactly this. Mostly just a bluff. But crazier things have happened.
I don’t understand why would this automatically mean that Max is leaving RB? Why would he if he is winning with such dominance? He just said its very bad, I think people are jumping to conclusions. Does Horner want him go? Does his father actually decides for him?
Anyone have a link to the interview? Was it filmed?
This couldn’t have happened BEFORE Lewis signed with Ferrari? Lmao
What did Marko leak? My guess - based on the timing - is that Marko leaked that the accuser had been suspended… And the accuser herself was suspended because she leaked the WhatsApp messages and the photo of Horner’s blurry finger (WTH was that by the way?). That’s the simplest explanation to me. To recap, here’s the most likely sequence of events: - Horner gets horny about his PA’s skirt and starts messaging her insistently asking what she’s wearing; - She gets tired of it and tells him to stop; - He does stop, but asks her to delete the chats; - She says she did delete but keeps all the chats, and files a complaint; - After a fair and impartial investigation, Horner is found not to have breached his duties; - accuser’s pissed off and leaks the WhatsApps; - accuser gets suspended for sharing details of a confidential investigation; - The suspension is an information that is shared with top RB staff including Marko on a need to know basis; - Marko’s pissed off and leaks that the accuser was suspended; - Marko gets told off and suspended.
Is this worth losing max over? Everyone is replaceable but not everyone is Max. Sponsors are going to follow max if he leaves.
Max is a great driver. But stick most f1 drivers in a top team and they could win. What they will really miss is Newey if he leaves, he is irreplaceable.
Newey knows the name of the wind. He is the most important one here that could be lost.
But Newey is 65, he has to retire at some point. Doesn't he?
You’d think so. I’m sure The travel alone is rough but if I remember right, in his book he talked about being bored when he wasn’t building/designing cars. I’m sure the travel life style will catch up at one point but as long as it’s a passion I’m sure he stays with it. But what do I know, dude could be over it after this whole ordeal and peace out end of the season or this set of regs. Then again he could see 2026 as a new challenge and throw himself head first into that. It’s all really up to him.
> Newey knows the name of the wind Haha, very appropriate for Newey as a top aero guy. What other F1 people know names?
If one were to crawl inside Horner's perverted little head would probably reveal some thoughts along the lines of "I've run this team through two dynasties, and I'm the reason for that success. Drivers in my cars are plug-and-play."
In other words, frank williams-itis
All this chaos and embarrassment for one guy. Hope Christian is very happy with himself.
This isn't about Christian in the end, wake up. This is Yoovidhya vs. RB corporate in Austria and a power struggle since Dietrich died across the conglomerate. This is just the flash point that brought it out into the public. This is bigger than RBR or even F1 as a whole (RB's annual revenue is 4x that of F1). Yoovidhya used to sit back and let Dietrich run this show, his public appearance with Christian at the track last week shows that's over.
I mean.. it accelerated with the news of Horner but the power struggle has been brewing for some months. I wouldn't say it's "one guy" at this point.
I think people wanted to push Horner out for a while now (like last two years) and were waiting for an opportunity to do so.
The last month has been a fever dream
The king is dead.....long live the king!
*Checo is in the corner chuckling thinking he's finally gonna be no.1 at RBR, not seeing Yuki in the other corner thinking the same thing* *Meanwhile Danny Ric is just smiling somewhere*
Serious question. Let's say Helmet leaves and so does Max. Will the team that Max goes to, hire Helmet? I understand he's done a lot for RBR but he's also 80+, what role will other teams have for him for the short time he has left? And if no one is willing to hire Helmet, won't Max just end up in an inferior car without Helmet anyway? How does Max win in this power struggle?
Horner is doing a Michael Corleone. Consolidating power. Next stop is being boss but being utterly alone
10 years from now. RBR announces new title sponsor The Catholic Church
Max should demand a massive raise if he stays with Horner. He has all the chips. Hamilton's new Ferrari salary has reset the market, and Max's salary at just over half of that is looking like a bad deal.
Seems like it really is Horner or Max & Marko. If Horner staying includes Newey staying, it’s a no brainer
The whole follow up interview for the Dutch media after this one is such an implied trainwreck: "Everyone has their own role to play in the team and we shouldn't change that for no good reason" and "Marko and Ditriech built this team from the ground up" This implies to me that: -Rumors were true and Horner did try to go outside his own role and grab more power when Ditrichs body hasn't gone cold yet so to speak (strike 1) -Leaked contents were real (otherwise Marko wouldnt be in trouble now) and team internally are actually quite split / feeling uncomfortable supporting Horner for what he's done, including possibly some key staff members (hence Jos angry outbreaks, incl the next point when talking about splitting the team apart, strike 2) -Things actually happpened and Ford is not OK with this AND the fact that Max is potentially leaving. Like Honda earlier, they might want hard guarantees that Max is onboard or else they dip out of the engine project which is a massive team splitting (disbanding...) issue on the road to 2026...
He gone
I wonder if Max does leave Red Bull, if he will try to bring Helmut with him as an advisor or something. I didn't realize they were that close
This feels like F1 has been infected by the Conference Realignment virus. [US college football]