Unfathomable Red Bull blunder Verstappen knew nothing about, left F1 champion dumbfounded

As Andrea Kimi Antonelli lept out of his stricken Mercedes in the latter stages of the Grand Prix in Montmeló, a Safety Car was triggered which prompted pitstops for most of the drivers.

For Red Bull, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place as due to their aggressive three-stop strategy left them only with a used set of softs, as used as the ones Verstappen had on, and a fresh set of hards which had been discarded by the teams as an option to use in the race.

As Verstappen emerged from the pits, the Dutchman immediately reach out to the pitwall on the radio vehemently questioning the decision to put him on hards.

“I was very surprised about that question,” the F1 champion said in the Drive to Wynn podcast. “Normally, the driver knows exactly what tyres he has and the condition of the tyres when they’re going to put them on the car during a race."

Did the team choose to leave Verstappen in the dark regarding the tyre availability to ensure the Dutchman came into the pits for fresh rubber? Mere speculation. However the forced strategic decision would ultimately result in severe frustration for the defending champion, something Hakkinen saw coming.

Today GPblog reported that Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team principal, has been sidelined and that his time at Red Bull may indeed come to an end after all. Can this move mark the beginning of the turn of the tide at the Austrian outfit?