Newey definitely not the last victim of power struggle at Red Bull

On 5 January this year, a column appeared on GPblog titled: Marko's contract extension shows Red Bull know how to win in F1. A praise to Red Bull Racing who, despite the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, seemed able to keep the group together. All the key people had signed new contracts. No problem present.

How different things really turned out not much later. An interesting game for power had been playing in the background ever since Mateschitz's death. Mateschitz had full power to make sporting decisions despite 49% of the shares. When the Austrian died, that power lapsed and sporting decisions are also back in the hands of Thai Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51% of Red Bull.

How Horner tries to seize power

Horner has since been conspicuously seen with Thai and has also been tied to the team by the owner during investigation that of him. While Red Bull Austria, Helmut Marko and Verstappen's camp would have preferred Horner to leave, Yoovidhya insisted on keeping Horner as team principal. That does not seem to be changing for the time being either.

With those reins firmly in his hands, Horner now pursues the policy that "no one is bigger than the team". Helmut Marko was almost kicked out by Horner, but that was prevented at the last minute. Probably because the team would then have lost star driver Max Verstappen. It would have been the second time Horner has tried to get rid of Marko, twice without success.

The other camp has not exactly kept things quiet within the team either. According to Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko was the one who brought out that Red Bull Powertrains was behind schedule. This put Christian Horner's project in a bad light. It would have been the main reason for Horner to want to get rid of Red Bull GmbH's top advisor. Unsuccessfully so, in other words.

Verstappen's camp have also been very clear. Not only did Max Verstappen let it be known that he would leave if Helmut Marko was sacked, Jos Verstappen also made himself heard about team principal Christian Horner. The latter, according to Jos, needed to step down to really bring back the peace.

After all the public attacks, a ceasefire followed. After the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, little more was said by either camp. Yet it is clear between the lines that peace is far from being signed. Horner's sneer at Marko after statements about Carlos Sainz's contract were particularly noteworthy.

Newey the first, but certainly not the last victim

Adrian Newey is the first victim of this whole soap opera. The investigation into Christian Horner would not be the only reason Newey wants to leave the team, but it clearly did not help the relationship between the two. Horner once brought Newey to the team and was able to keep the top designer on board for a long time. Now, however, the bond between the two seems to have cooled.

It is the first and certainly not the last victim of this power struggle. Much will depend on the renewed investigation into Christian Horner. The woman who brought the charges appealed and still hopes to be proved right. If she, it remains to be seen whether Horner would be allowed to stay on as an F1 team principal.

Should the appeal also come to nothing and Horner stay on, peace will not be back either. GPblog heard earlier that the Verstappen camp are considering leaving even if Horner stays on. Besides, the Verstappens want the important people to stay. With Newey's departure, that is already out of the question.

Where it seemed Red Bull had found the key to success in F1, things have completely turned around in less than half a year. Complete calm at the team has turned into an internal power struggle. That never benefits the team. Horner may argue that no one is bigger than the team, but when you lose Newey and potentially Verstappen as well, it is hard to imagine that the team will continue to perform at the same level.