Max Verstappen responds to Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit amid claims he played key role in the decision

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner was just fired, and there are still questions, especially regarding the role Max Verstappen may or may not have played.

In the meantime, Red Bull’s top driver finally responded to Christian Horner’s exit.

And he did it in his own words, and not through the words of his manager.

But once again, people are more confused than before.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

Here’s what Max Verstappen had to say

We should probably preface this by saying that Formula 1 is a high-pressure environment, and there’s a lot at stake, including financially.

This explains why behind-the-scenes drama generally stays behind the scenes, and why corporate speak is the language everybody favors. But it’s also the language used by both Christian Horner and Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen’s manager addressed Christian Horner’s exit shortly after the announcement.

But Verstappen himself decided to wait a few more hours before releasing a note that was shared on the Formula 1 website.

And it is exactly as neutral as you’d expect.

“From my first race win, to four World Championships, we have shared incredible successes,” read Verstappen’s note.

“Winning memorable races and breaking countless records. Thank you for everything, Christian!”

Maybe Christian Horner was sacked against Verstappen’s opinion and advice, or maybe he was sacked because of it.

But, ironically, the statement would’ve been exactly the same either way.

What’s going on at Red Bull

Max Verstappen made his F1 debut with Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso 10 years ago. But he was quickly promoted to Red Bull after regularly outshining his teammates at the wheel of a slower car.

The problem for Red Bull is that this has been a recurring theme since.

This is because Verstappen is always either winning or, at the very least, competing to win, whereas all of his teammates, with no exception, have significantly underperformed in comparison.

Since Verstappen joined the team in 2016, several drivers have been either fired or demoted by the Red Bull F1 team.

Red Bull F1 team execs have a reputation for having a bit of a trigger finger when it comes to their drivers.

And it’s a point that’s further proven by the fact that Red Bull replaced one of their drivers mid-season three times in the last 10 seasons, including this one.

Obviously, Formula 1 is a high-pressure environment, and other teams occasionally do this as well, but Red Bull’s driver turnover was maybe beginning to backfire.

Because if changing drivers constantly doesn’t solve the problem, then perhaps the problem is elsewhere.

Maybe this is part of the reason why Christian Horner was given the boot.

Maybe not.

But we’ll never find out for sure.

Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology.