The 2025 Formula 1 season has reached the eve of the seventh race out of 24, and after a third of the championship, a clear picture of the pecking order has emerged—with McLaren standing out as the absolute dominator of the championship so far. A dominance that, in fact, does not sit well with rival teams, causing internal discontent and headaches. None of them, except Mercedes, is performing adequately: Ferrari is in deep crisis after a winter full of bold statements, while Red Bull is struggling, gasping, and relying on the miraculous hands of Max Verstappen. In addition to the crisis, however, there are also ongoing reflections in Milton Keynes regarding the team’s leadership and short-term future. A future that, during the first European Grand Prix of the season in Imola, will also hinge on the updates Red Bull plans to introduce to improve the RB21’s competitiveness.
Crucial developments
These developments, if they fail (as happened with the upgrade package brought to Hungary last season), could send 2025 down a negative path and cast doubt on the position of team principal Christian Horner. According to Autosprint, the British manager may be losing part of the support he previously enjoyed from the Thai wing of the company, led by Charlem Yoovidhya, who controls 51% of Red Bull (a faction that emerged after the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz and favors the team’s continuity, unlike the Austrian side led by Oliver Mintzlaff and Mark Mateschitz). This is the same faction that saved Horner in 2024 when he was engulfed in media controversy over alleged inappropriate behavior toward a team employee. That once-unwavering support may now be waning, also in light of possible budget cuts in the sports division. But, as always, if one figure is at risk (with Marko expected to remain firmly in place), there is already a potential successor waiting in the wings.
Between replacements and sliding doors…
For a possible post-Christian Horner era, one name that has long circulated is Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, whose story closely resembles Horner’s: former driver, then manager of a junior formula team, and finally entry into Formula 1 as a team principal. It’s worth noting that his name had already been linked to Red Bull in early 2024 when Horner was in turmoil, seen as the “new face” instead of choosing someone from within. But, as reliably rumored for some time, if Horner were to leave Milton Keynes, he might not be unemployed for long, since his red-clad counterpart, Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, could soon face his own storm due to the Scuderia’s disastrous 2025. And with a 2026 campaign that’s drawing little excitement. A scenario that, as of now, lacks concrete evidence—but according to some well-informed sources, there have been whispers in Maranello about keeping a close watch on the situation…
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