'Would Horner have stayed at Red Bull with Verstappen on his side?'

The departure of Christian Horner as Red Bull team principal and CEO was without a doubt the biggest news of the week—if not of the year.

The Leamington Spa-born manager was shown the door by the Thai ownership after twenty years of distinguished service in Milton Keynes, and was replaced by Laurent Mekies. A German medium also reported that top advisor Helmut Marko was present at crucial strategy meetings and also at the Briton's dismissal.

Horner had, in fact, survived the media storm that erupted around him following the alleged transgressive behaviour case that surfaced in February 2024, managing to keep his position thanks largely to the support of Chalerm Yoovidhya.

But would things have played out differently if Horner had enjoyed the support of the four-time world champion?

Speaking live on his YouTube channel, F1 analyst Peter Windsor took the time to address a viewer’s comment: "Let’s be real — Christian would not be out the door if Max wanted him to stay."

''I think that's probably right,'' Windsor replied. ''Are you saying that he wanted Perez to leave as well? That's the only thing I'd say in counter to that. But I think you're probably right.''

He finally concluded: ''If Racing Bulls weren't going as well as they were, and Laurent Mekies wasn't looking as good as he is, Max might not be quite as ready to endorse that.''