Horner Under Fire Red Bull's Leadership Test

Marko: Horner must now demonstrate his leadership qualities

Marko challenges Horner to assert his leadership at Red Bull, signaling a crucial phase for the team.

Dr. Helmut Marko has also put pressure on his director at Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, to reverse Red Bull’s decline in F1.

After winning seven of the first ten races of 2024, Red Bull has faltered in the last five events, with Max Verstappen winning none and Sergio Perez continuing to struggle to consistently regain his top form.

This jeopardizes the constructors’ crown, with McLaren just 30 points behind and a considerably faster car.

Horner was reluctant to sound the alarm at Zandvoort and insists that Red Bull can solve the problem. However, Max Verstappen declared at Monza that he no longer has his 4th title in his hands.

The consultant, Helmut Marko, agrees with his driver, and all eyes are now on Horner.

“Horner must demonstrate his leadership qualities now. Sugarcoating things won’t help us in this situation.”

“But Horner has also acknowledged mistakes. We’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere in terms of car balance. But we’re not alone—it’s happened to Ferrari and Mercedes too.”

“Only McLaren has been spared; every upgrade has worked for them.”

“We are self-critical, but we have many good people who can turn the situation around.”

“The team has worked hard to find the best setup and balance for this traditional track. Of course, we have a tough job ahead of us.”

“I think it will be very tight between McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and us. One thing is for sure: we won’t be beaten as clearly as we were recently in the Netherlands.”

A much more conventional speech than the one Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, gave last week, with a direct attack on Horner.

“Jos is Jos. He’s just a very emotional guy and made his statements without proper analysis. But that shouldn’t be overestimated. We’ve had some unfortunate results recently and have sometimes been beaten below our potential.”

“At Zandvoort, we had the wrong settings, but of course. We clearly feel the pressure, we need to improve, and the updates must take effect.”

Horner Under Fire: Red Bull’s Leadership Test Horner Under Fire: Red Bull’s Leadership Test

Race Center
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Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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