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Horner still sacked!

Following on from the news that Christian Horner had been sacked by Red Bull Racing - how does this matter to their star driver, Max Verstappen?

It only matters to Verstappen if he was thinking of staying, if he was thinking of going it matters naught.

Horner and Verstappen have enjoyed huge success together.  But the plan since Ricciardo left has been for any success to be delivered by Verstappen with another driver in support.  And those drivers have not been able to support Verstappen.

It's Helmut Marko's job to produce the drivers but he could make a legitimate argument that Gasly, Albon, Tsunoda and Lawson are not bad Formula One drivers.  They are no Verstappen, but they are not as bad as the Red Bull cars make them look and their performance elsewhere would vindicate that.  Further, he could point out, when Red Bull went elsewhere for a driver and got the good, solid, journeyman that is Perez, in each of the ground effect years Perez started the season on a par with Verstappen and as the updates went onto the car, it went faster in Verstappen's hands but Perez got further away.

The argument logically being that focussing on the Verstappen plus one only works if the car can support the plus one enough to support Verstappen.  

Horner ultimately is accountable for driver and car.  But if he couldn't or wouldn't change a development philosophy that, whilst wildly successful in recent years has clearly hit a dead end now, then someone else will have to steer the erm bull by the horns.  In the china shop.   Or something.

There is always the risk and fear of the unknown.  Verstappen has only ever won in the RBR, and under Horner.  He's only really driven F1 cars heavily influenced by Horner's management since he's always had a say in the junior team. But next year will be a new set of regulations, with a new PU and now new senior management wherever he goes.  So perhaps Horner leaving makes the decision to leave easier for Verstappen.
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