Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle has conceded that Max Verstappen\u2019s camp was not behind Red Bull\u2019s decision to sack Christian Horner.<\/p>\n
Yet he remains convinced that the reigning four-time World Champion had the power to prevent Horner\u2019s dismissal and still \u201cchose not to stop Christian being let go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin Brundle clarifies comments on \u2018Team Max Verstappen\u2019 involvement in Christian Horner sacking<\/p>\n
Red Bull announced earlier this month that Horner has been \u2018released\u2019 from his duties as chief executive and team principal after more than 20 years, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies promoted as his replacement.<\/p>\n
Horner\u2019s departure came after a tumultuous 18-month period at Red Bull, during which Verstappen\u2019s father Jos called for the team boss to resign<\/a> and warned the team would \u201cexplode\u201d if Horner remained in place.<\/p>\n In the immediate aftermath of Horner\u2019s dismissal, Brundle claimed that Verstappen\u2019s entourage played a \u201ckey role\u201d in Red Bull\u2019s decision<\/a> to make a change.<\/p>\n Analysis: Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull for Mercedes?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Max Verstappen or George Russell? The choice for Mercedes is simple<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 How Max Verstappen to Mercedes could shake up F1 2026 driver market<\/a><\/p>\n In a fresh update at the Belgian Grand Prix, however, the Sky F1 commentator made it clear that the Verstappens were not the key drivers behind the move.<\/p>\n Appearing on the broadcaster\u2019s coverage of FP1 at Spa, Brundle said of the decision to sack Horner: \u201cI was very surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cThe urgency, the finality of it, the summary dismissal in the middle of the season after everything Christian\u2019s achieved with the team over the last 20 years. The championships and victories are quite extraordinary.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve had a difficult one-and-a-half years, but they\u2019ve still won races \u2013 and they won last year\u2019s championship, of course, with Max.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been on pole and won a couple of races too, so it didn\u2019t feel like it was emergency action stations but that\u2019s something they chose to do.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a long chat with Christian. I\u2019ve spoken to Jos Verstappen. We\u2019ve heard from Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n \u201cI put a request in to talk to Oliver Mintzlaff and Dr Helmut Marko here. That hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it seems clear that it was a decision from Austria. It wasn\u2019t the Verstappens asking for this.<\/p>\n \u201cJos Verstappen has thrown a lot of hand grenades in over the past 16 months, some of them have gone off, and he made it clear he thought he Christian should move on from time to time.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t about the Verstappens.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the management in Austria wanting to take back control of some of the commercial side of it.<\/p>\n \u201cChristian didn\u2019t want to let that go because he felt, in the round, the drivers, the cost cap, the sponsors, the employment of people was all one big story that he wanted to keep hold of and so they made that decision.<\/p>\n \u201cPresumably Max could have, if he\u2019d have wanted to, stopped it from happening \u2013 but he either chose not to or couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to assume he chose not to stop Christian being let go.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they are where they find themselves today. They have an expression: \u2018It\u2019s all about the can.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they felt that they want to do something with Red Bull going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it was a bit too much about Christian and not enough about Red Bull, let\u2019s wait to see what they say about that.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there are any number of factors, but I\u2019d imagine Christian sitting home watching this, for the first time not in the paddock for 20 years, feeling pretty sad about it.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Max Verstappen news<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Red Bull news<\/a><\/p>\n Brundle\u2019s latest comments come after he aired his belief that Verstappen is now \u201ccertain\u201d to remain at Red Bull<\/a> for F1 2026.<\/p>\n Horner\u2019s dismissal followed huge speculation over the future of Verstappen, who has been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes for next season.<\/p>\n Despite being officially under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, it is believed that a clause in Verstappen\u2019s contract will allow him to leave for F1 2026 if he is lower than fourth in the Drivers\u2019 standings after next weekend\u2019s Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break.<\/p>\n Verstappen currently holds third in the championships with an 18-point advantage over George Russell, the driver he would most likely replace at Mercedes for next season.<\/p>\n