F1 Rumor: Horner was reason for Red Bull's talent drain

After Christian Horner (pictured) managed to lose Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall, the two best designers in Formula, it was all downhill for the Red Bull F1 team.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Red Bull decided to sack Horner to attract new talent according to Nelson Piquet Jr. on the Pelas Pistas podcast.

“What’s the reason they are struggling to keep Max? I heard it’s they have difficulty bringing some key people back or hiring. Because some didn’t like the team environment. Those little problems came up between him and Max’s father. In a way, it bothered some people, and for them to bring the people they want back, some felt that, with Christian there, it would be more difficult,” said Piquet.

“That’s what people have been saying. It was about sharing tasks a little bit more and Horner didn’t want to do that. He wanted to maintain control over everything, both teams, over the engines; he wanted to be in control of everything. But for him it was a win-win situation.

“If he gets all the power, for him, it’s a huge moral issue. And if he doesn’t, he gets a huge amount of money, almost 100 million dollars. Maybe part of that is psychological, so they can get rid of him and hire this list of people back. It’s not just because of Max.”

What is Piquet smoking? The McLaren team has Rob Marshall locked up in a long-term contract and Aston Martin has Adrian Newey locked up for a very long time as well. They won’t be returning to Red Bull now that Horner is gone.

It is doubtful Horner wanted to lose Marshall or Newey. The more likely cause of their loss is the cost cap.

Red Bull already breached the F1 cost cap in 2021 and paid for it dearly. Because they were at their limit in terms of total team cost, it is very likely that Horner simply could not give them the pay raise that other teams were offering, and they bolted.

Another related scenario could have been that Horner’s salary was so high, it impacted his ability to pay Marshall and Newey a higher salary. While the two highest-paid employees salaries are not included in the cost cap (the two drivers), Horner’s was.

Why did Marshall and Newey leave Red Bull? When in doubt, follow the money.