Reflections on the future
McLaren’s dominance at the start of the season is creating quite a few headaches for the other top teams in F1. Mercedes is currently the only one being spared, as 2025 was already seen as a transitional season and is turning out better than expected. And while Ferrari may be struggling, things are no better at Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based team is in difficulty, still relying solely on the miracles of Max Verstappen, and is undergoing a period of deep reflection about the future—regarding the entire sporting commitment of the famous energy drink brand, even beyond the world of racing.
For the first European GP of the season, scheduled in Imola on May 18, Red Bull plans to introduce upgrades in an attempt to improve the RB21’s competitiveness. However, if the season were to take a particularly negative turn, team principal Christian Horner could find himself on the line. According to the Italian magazine Autosprint, the British manager—who has led the Milton Keynes team since its founding in 2005—may be losing some of the support he once had from the Thai half of the company, controlled by Chaleo Yoovidhya and holding 51% of Red Bull. The remaining 49% is managed by Mark Mateschitz, heir of Dietrich.
Christian Horner is not so secure
The ‘Thai bloc’ played a major role in saving Christian Horner at the beginning of 2024, when the British manager was caught up in a legal storm involving alleged inappropriate behavior toward a team employee. Now, however, part of that support may be wavering, also in light of Red Bull’s broader rationalization of general sports-related expenses. Should Horner really be removed, ironically, the one who might stay on is Helmut Marko, who is closely tied to the company’s ‘Austrian bloc.’ Naturally, as always, much depends on the track: a resurgence in Red Bull’s F1 performance could silence these rumors. But the uncertainty of 2026, with the debut of the first power units entirely produced in Milton Keynes, may also play a role.
Back in late March, we had already pointed out that the management situation at Red Bull was not so stable. One name being floated as a potential successor to Christian Horner is current Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, 37. His personal story closely resembles Christian Horner’s: a former driver who became a team manager in junior formulas and entered F1 as a very young team principal. Oakes had already been linked to Red Bull at the start of 2024, during the period when Horner was under heavy scrutiny. Back then, he represented the ‘external’ option, compared to internal alternatives like Pierre Waché or Jonathan Wheatley. Nothing came of it at the time, as Horner managed to hold on to his position. How this story ends, however, is still to be written.
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