Karun Chandhok reveals “rumblings” showed Red Bull “friction” ahead of Christian Horner exit

Sky Sports analyst and former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok has discussed Christian Horner’s abrupt exit from his role as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal. The former driver revealed that there were “rumblings in the paddock in Austria,” indicating that something was happening in the background at the Milton Keynes outfit.

“I mean, there were a few rumblings in Austria when we were there over the weekend that, you know, there was still that friction that seemed to have been sparked back in Bahrain last year,” Chandhok explained on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

Reports of a power struggle emerged within the team in Bahrain in 2024 after an investigation was launched by Red Bull GmbH following allegations made against Horner by a female employee. Horner strongly denied the claims and was later cleared of the claims made against him when the parent company completed its investigation.

“Divisions in the camp between, you know, should we say, team Verstappen, and then the Austrian side with Helmut Marko versus the Thailand side, which seemed to back Christian Horner. So this has been building, it feels like, for a while.”

Comments recently began to emerge about the team’s star driver, Max Verstappen, engaging in talks with rival team Mercedes, adding to Horner’s woes. Chandhok revealed that there were “rumblings in the paddock” when this narrative began to grow.

“There were rumblings in the paddock in Austria a couple of weeks ago that it was ramping up as the Max Verstappen rumours started to rise again,” he added. “Would he leave and go to Mercedes? And there’s a lot of talk about whether, you know, it was a case of Christian stays or Verstappen stays.

“So I can’t say it’s been a complete shock but still, as you say, you know, fairly seismic news because for all of us who have seen Red Bull over the last 20 years, Christian Horner was Red Bull.

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Clive Mason – Getty Images

“You know, he was the team principal who was there every session, every single qualifying, every single race day. He was the man who was there, but crucially he was never a shareholder or an owner of the team, unlike Toto Wolff and I think that’s been a crucial part of this. And in the end, the shareholders and the owners have decided to dispense of his services.”

The reason for Horner’s exit has not been confirmed. However, it is thought that the drop in performance and multiple high-profile exits from the team contributed to the decision.