It’s been a spiky week in the paddock: Red Bull has finally drawn a line under the Christian Horner era, Alpine whispers are getting louder, and Ferrari is fielding more noise than points as Lewis Hamilton’s reset drags on.
Red Bull’s break-up with Horner is now complete. Days after the British Grand Prix, the team confirmed the split; now it’s been made formal at board level, with Horner removed as a director and Stefan Salzer taking his place. That’s more than paperwork. It underlines the shift in balance inside Milton Keynes, with Red Bull GmbH’s hand visibly firmer on the tiller.
What next for Horner? The Alpine link won’t go away. Ralf Schumacher has been among those to argue it’s a logical pairing, hinting the era of old-school power brokers is fading and suggesting Horner’s brand of modern team-building would suit an operation trying to reinvent itself. Alpine’s structure already carries the imprint of change; sliding a proven operator into that mix would be a statement.
Bernie Ecclestone, never short of a headline, has his own read on why Red Bull moved on. In his view, the team was kneecapped by a soft “number two” contribution alongside the lead car, a weakness that matters more when the margins close. You don’t need to buy every word to recognize the truth in the premise: in a tighter 2025 field, you can’t carry dead air on Sundays.
Over at Ferrari, Hamilton’s first season in red hasn’t hit the notes anyone expected. The pace has appeared in flashes, the rhythm hasn’t. Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner sees a fork in the road: grind on through 2025, then use the 2026 reset to build something that actually fits Hamilton’s needs and Ferrari’s philosophy. Miss that window, he argues, and the story risks writing itself.
Ralf Schumacher isn’t convinced the internal dynamic is helping. He’s called out what he views as Hamilton “complaining” behind the scenes and suggests Maranello has already made its strategic choice: Charles Leclerc is the axis. That’s hardly shocking given Leclerc’s tenure and stature within the team, but it sharpens the stakes for Hamilton’s side of the garage. In an era where development tokens aren’t literal but resources still are, the louder car tends to get fed first.
If there’s a thread through all of this, it’s clarity. Red Bull chose it with Horner. Alpine is searching for it. Ferrari needs it. The calendar doesn’t care who finds it first.
