Ecclestone warns Red Bull of unhealthy situation with Verstappen.

Few team bosses hold onto their job as long as Christian Horner. The Brit, now sidelined by Red Bull Racing, was already there when Bernie Ecclestone still owned Formula 1. During that time, a strong bond developed between the two, which is still intact to this day.

Ecclestone previously expressed regret that Horner had to leave the field. In a conversation with F1 Destinations, the now 94-year-old revisits the departure of his friend.

"It was a bit like a marriage that ended in a divorce," Ecclestone analyses.

"After Didi Mateschitz’s [Red Bull founder’s] death, people inside Red Bull had ideas about the leadership and direction of the team that did not favor Christian.

According to Ecclestone, a power vacuum has emerged at Red Bull, as he also fears for the future of Red Bull Racing if Max Verstappen would leave at some point.

"It is hard to criticize someone who is winning races and championships, but there was no plan B in case something went wrong with either Christian or Max," says Ecclestone.

The Brit believes it's not healthy for a team to have one top driver and the second driver lagging far behind in his races. Then the team becomes too dependent on that one star, such as in the case of Red Bull with Verstappen.

"This can cause problems. It is good to have two more or less equal drivers like McLaren has today.

"It works if you can deliver the exact same machinery for both drivers," concluded Ecclestone.