Flinsider

Just two years ago Horner presided over a near-perfect season for Red Bull. His July dismissal was ruthless

-  KARUN CHANDHOK

It’s been a busy month in the Formula 1 world with races coming thick and fast and a huge celebration of 75 years of the F1 World Championship at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. There’s no doubt that the biggest news story has been the sacking of Christian Horner just after the British Grand Prix. The news came as a bit of a shock and has created more questions than answers. Why now? What’s the real reason behind it? What does it mean for Max's future? Who will lead the team in the long term?

Christian has become something of a pantomime villain in the paddock and a master politician. But deep down he’s still a racer who led the team to a total of 14 world championships in 20 years, which is a remarkable record. There are several things around the alleged inappropriate behaviour scandal that unfolded around Bahrain 2024 which still remain unanswered of course. Christian himself has always claimed innocence and the internal enquiry cleared him of any wrongdoing, but given the fact that it was an internal procedure, the world at large still remain outside the opaque wall.