Karun Chandhok: 'Horner sacked for creating one-car team'

F1

Christian Horner's Red Bull team developed an F1 car that only Max Verstappen can race successfully and now he's had to carry the can, says Karun Chandhok

Christian Horner with Max Verstappen in Red Bull F1 pit garage

Horner's Red Bull team have been left reliant on Max Verstappen alone for points

Red Bull

Author

Joe Dunn

Christian Horner is paying the price for allowing Red Bull to become so focused on Max Verstappen, according to TV analyst Karun Chandhok.

The Sky TV pundit and Motor Sport columnist said that Horner clearly “carried the can” for Red Bull’s recent run of form and that the team’s period of dominance had ended halfway through the 2024 season.

“It is a fact that the team has allowed itself to get into a position where Max Verstappen is so powerful that it has become effectively a one-car team,” he said. “The period of Red Bull dominance ended as McLaren stepped up and effectively they have only had Max fighting for them,” he said.

“Christian Horner has to take some responsibility for that and I suspect that the Red Bull executives have looked at the team performance with the second car coming last at the last race and not finishing the previous race and made a decision. There are a lot of rumours flying about Max’s future and I think Red Bull have thought to themselves, ‘if we lose Max then where are we as a team?’”

Ninth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix is the highest finish for Red Bull’s second car so far this season, and the team has already swapped Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda. Reflecting on the second Red Bull seat, Chandhok added: “Since Daniel Ricciardo left, the team have been through Gasly, Albon, Perez, Lawson and Tsunoda who are all very good drivers and doing a great job with other teams but haven’t been able to deliver consistent results at Red Bull Racing. Lawson’s performance at Austria this year, in contrast to Tsunoda, was a perfect example — I suspect they would have had the opposite results if they swapped seats again!”

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No official reason for Horner’s shock exit has been given. Red Bull announced on Wednesday that he was leaving to be replaced by Laurent Mekies – only the second-ever Red Bull team principal.

Chandhok added that he would have preferred to see Red Bull allow Horner a final season in charge. He said Horner was a huge character in the F1 paddock: “I got to know him well over the years and he was a very smart operator. He knew the power of TV and the power of what he said. He said things that were aimed very clearly at getting his message across and he was very conscious of the public narrative. That was his job but he was a cheeky little bugger. He liked to ruffle feathers and like all big bosses he rubbed people up the wrong way.

“But people underestimate just how much of a racer Christian was. He is a racer at heart and he created a very serious and successful team. I think he is one of only three members of that team who has not missed a single grand prix since the team was formed. What a record.

“And I remember when I was a test driver for Red Bull in 2007-08 he came to Barcelona where I was doing some winter testing. I was surprised. It was a big deal for me but I didn’t expect the team boss to come. He wanted to be there and ask questions and be involved.”

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