Red Bull's top brass under attack post-Horner Departure: 'They will regret this'

In his blog Green Notebook, Saward heavily criticizes the situation at Red Bull following the forced departure of Christian Horner. "I fear that the removal of Horner will not be good news for the team," he writes.

According to Saward, the heart of the problem lies there. "Those in charge in Austria do not like the fact that Horner can be viewed as more important than they are," he states. "When Dietrich Mateschitz was still alive, there was never much politics. Mateschitz trusted Horner and Christian was in charge."

He emphasizes that Red Bull achieved great successes with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, but that Mateschitz did not lose his confidence in Horner even in times of no success.

Saward does not doubt the competence of Horner's successor Laurent Mekies, but warns of internal resistance.

"Laurent Mekies is a good guy, but winning over the hearts and minds of Horner Racing will not be easy," he writes. "There are no shortage of jobs for experienced people to go to in motorsport valley. Those who have seen how the new Red Bull management has dealt with Horner, may prefer not to stay."

The way Horner has been treated, Saward calls it downright shortsighted. "I think that those who pushed Horner out will soon regret it and one can only wonder what Mateschitz would have thought of the antics of his successors", he continues.

According to Saward, there is a great risk that Red Bull will follow the same path as other teams that have collapsed under poor leadership.

"People who fiddle with F1 teams without understanding what they are doing create the Alpines of tomorrow," he warns.