Former Formula 1 race winner Johnny Herbert believes that Red Bull is now an “empty shell” and now faces a future without Max Verstappen.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit announced the shock departure of Christian Horner after the 2025 British Grand Prix, bringing an end to his tenure as team principal that began when the squad entered F1 in 2005.
Horner‘s axing came after a turbulent 18-month period that has seen a power struggle continue within Red Bull after the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz, allegations of inappropriate behaviour levelled at the Briton – though he was cleared by internal investigations.
Friction with Verstappen‘s father Jos and the departure of key senior personnel, including Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber’s pre-Audi project.
Speaking exclusively to Total-Motorsport at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Herbert said: “I think it was always going to come to this, I am surprised it didn’t happen sooner, personally.
“As far as I am aware, it was something that Ford were never happy about, going back to when it kicked off. That hasn’t gone away, it was never going to go away as far as I understand it and it had to change.
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“I suppose it is better to change it now so they can sort what they need for the future.”
Verstappen to leave Red Bull anyway?
Rumours are intensifying that Verstappen will seek a move away from Red Bull with the team struggling for form in the past year, dropping behind McLaren in the pecking order and instead finding itself in a best-of-the-rest battle with Ferrari and Mercedes.
The four-time world champion is the only contribution to the team’s constructors’ position with Liam Lawson and now Yuki Tsunoda struggling for form in the second car.
Mercedes seems the most likely landing spot for Verstappen, though Aston Martin is believed to still be an option and, with it, a reunion with Honda and Newey, but it has been theorised that the decision to remove Horner from his post was done as a last attempt by Red Bull to keep the Dutchman.
“Some people think it has been done because that’s what Jos wanted some time ago, it is what people read into: ‘well if that is what happened, then Max will stay’,” explained Herbert.
“But I don’t think that is the case now, it has moved much further down the line. We have seen how much they’ve struggled this season – yes, Max still pulls out the Silverstone, Suzuka-type laps we have seen from him, but it’s not about what he is doing now and what brilliant a job he can do in that car, it is all about where is the right placement for him to win more races and another world championship.
“If you look at where Red Bull is at the moment and with everyone who has left, it is a bit of an empty shell. We will have to wait and see how they go about whatever they decide for the future, but I don’t think that future is with Max.”
