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Speaker 1: Now big news from the IF one World overnight read

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Speaker 1: Bull boss Christian Horner has been sacked. He was, of

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Speaker 1: course the one who gave Liam Lawson the run around

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Speaker 1: earlier this year. Chris Midland is a Formula one journalist

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Speaker 1: and is worth.

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Speaker 2: Us morning Chris morning, Hell, how are you doing?

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Speaker 1: And well, thank you? Any idea what's gone on here?

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Speaker 2: Well, there's multiple reasons I think that could come into it.

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Speaker 2: None have been firmly given by Red Bull, and they've

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Speaker 2: been very quiet, both the parent company and the racing

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Speaker 2: team itself about any potential reasons. But if you look

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Speaker 2: over the last eighteen months, the team has certainly been

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Speaker 2: in decline in terms of its form on the track,

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Speaker 2: and Christian Horner's faced off track controversy in that time

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Speaker 2: as well. So in some ways you could see this

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Speaker 2: coming over that period, but in others it looked like

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Speaker 2: he'd written out the storm and it comes as a shock.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like, at least it's been a reported that

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Speaker 1: he had yet another argument with Joss for steppin last weekend.

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Speaker 1: Could that have been the thing that has sort of

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Speaker 1: been the moment that breaks it?

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Speaker 2: I don't think an argument with theos would have been

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Speaker 2: the key to it in that sense, But I do

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Speaker 2: think concern over Max the Staffen's future could be central

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Speaker 2: to it because, as I said, the form has not

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Speaker 2: been good for Red Bull that the trend at least.

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Speaker 2: You know, Max did win the championship last year, but

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Speaker 2: he kind of linked to it with the car he

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Speaker 2: had in the second half of the season. Doesn't have

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Speaker 2: a card this year that he can fight to the

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Speaker 2: title with, and he's slipping back in contention as well

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Speaker 2: right now. Now he's looking at other options. He's got

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Speaker 2: break clauses in his contract based on performance, and Red

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Speaker 2: Bull know that their biggest asset right now is Max

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Speaker 2: the Staffan because they've lost a number of key team

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Speaker 2: members and they're not delivering the car for him, So

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Speaker 2: to lose him, it's kind of like, what's their usp

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Speaker 2: where's their strength? And I think that panic is what

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Speaker 2: may have led to it. So the Rastapans also want

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Speaker 2: to see change, they want to see improvement, and they

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Speaker 2: weren't getting it under Horn's leadership. So there's a chance

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Speaker 2: that there's an ultimatum there that's been rumored, But even

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Speaker 2: if there wasn't, I think just the ownership of the

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Speaker 2: Red Bull rating team looking at it and think something's

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Speaker 2: got to give.

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Speaker 1: Does this change the outlook for Liam Lawson?

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Speaker 2: I'd say no based on I think Liam has even

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Speaker 2: having some good performances more recently. He had a really

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Speaker 2: good result in Austria just two weekends ago. But he's

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Speaker 2: back in the junior team for this year, which is

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Speaker 2: realistically where he probably should have been anyway for his development.

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Speaker 2: It would have been better if he'd had a bit

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Speaker 2: more stability to build experience, and if he performs well

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Speaker 2: within the team this year, then yes, he'll have a

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Speaker 2: better outlook moving forward, but that's all within him. In

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Speaker 2: the sense, Horner being at Red Bull or not being

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Speaker 2: at Red Bull didn't make a huge difference. Horner had

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Speaker 2: backed him and wanted him to be in that seat

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Speaker 2: at the start of the year, and then had been

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Speaker 2: there when they overturned that decision after just two races.

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Speaker 2: But Lauren Mechis, who has now gone in as CEO

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Speaker 2: and team principal at Red Bull to replace Horner, was

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Speaker 2: the team principal at Racing Balls with Liam as well

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Speaker 2: and was a big fan of Liam, so I don't

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Speaker 2: think he's kind of lost any allies in that sense,

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Speaker 2: and It just comes down to what he can do

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Speaker 2: on track.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff, Chris Good to Talk Chris Midland, Formula one journalist.

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