~misfit~ <
[email protected]> wrote:
On 10/07/2025 5:37 am, dmunz wrote:
Ok, but why now? Why not wait until the break?
I don’t buy all the VES noise.
I wonder if it has more to do with the Ferrari moves rumor.
There's talk that after the allegations Horner faced the Verstappen camp wanted him gone. Now that
RBR are desperate to keep Verstappen and his exit clause has been
triggered (by lack of points)
they hope that getting rid of Horner will encourage Max to stay. <shrug> Buggered if I know...
Of course the situation at RBR is complex and many of the reports about it
are mere supposition but it is known that, when Dietrich Mateschitz and
Chaleo Yoovidhya founded Red Bull they each took a 49% interest in the
business with the remaining 2% going to Chaleo’s son, Chalerm.
When Dietrich Mateschitz died his son, Mark, inherited his father’s
interest in the business and he seems to have formed the opinion that
Christian Horner had too much control over the racing team. He may have suspected that Horner planned a coup, in which RBR would become a separate entity, with himself as owner.
This supposition is not too far fetched in view of the fact that neither Horner, nor Adrian Newey, have ever been offered shares in the RBR
business.
Any attempt by the Austrian faction to get rid of Horner was frustrated by
the fact that he always had the support of the Thais.
Recently, however, things have not been going well for Horner: vital team members: Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley have all left the team; Horner took the incomprehensible decision to retain Sergio Pérez (and extend his contract) and he faced an internal investigation (which cleared
him) of inappropriate behaviour towards his personal assistant, Fiona
Hewitson (it probably did not help that arch stirrer, Jos Verstappen, allegedly, has tender feelings for Hewitson).
It surely cannot be a coincidence that the recent transfer of a 2% stake in
Red Bull GmbH from Chalerm Yoovidhya to Fides Trustees SA, a trust company registered in Geneva was followed almost immediately by the sacking of
Horner.
As far as Max Verstappen’s future is concerned, if I were he, I would
abandon RBR just as soon as contractual arrangements allow. The RBR team
seems to be in meltdown and I have very little faith in its ability to
produce a competitive engine next year.
--
Sir Tim
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)