Schumacher says there is 'a lot at stake' for Red Bull and Horner at Imola

The Grand Prix that takes place at the iconic Imola circuit will be of enormous importance for Red Bull Racing, with the Austrian team introducing updates at the start of the upcoming tripleheader. These are crucial changes to the RB21 as they look to close the gap on the dominating McLaren.

At the most recent Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko confirmed 'new parts' would be brought to Imola, but Max Verstappen was reluctant to reveal much about any of the upgrades that will be brought to Italy this weekend.

But if these updates do not work as they should, it is not Horner who should be responsible for that, but Red Bull's current technical director, Pierre Waché.

When asked about a possible firing of Horner if the updates don't work, Schumacher responded: “I can hardly imagine it. And you should say that you could think about it, but the team boss doesn't build the car. Then you should look at the team behind it or search for someone new. Then you could look at Waché, whom you don't have confidence in to develop the car well,” the German said on Sky Sports Germany's Boxengasse-podcast.

Schumacher was then reminded that Horner is responsible for the team, with the German then agreeing that is the case

“But you also have to give him credit for the fact that, through the whole situation around personnel in Formula 1 as a whole, it was clear that there would come a time when people would be poached. That was also the case at Mercedes. In other words, he wouldn't have been able to keep everyone anyway. So now there's a lot at stake, there's unrest, that's just how it is,” the 49-year-old continued.

For now, no replacement is needed at Red Bull. GPblog has learned that the rumours that Horner's position is not under pressure are not correct. There were rumours that Oliver Oakes would replace Horner at Red Bull, but this is also not true.

But, should a replacement be needed, Schumacher would opt for a familiar face to Verstappen: “Franz Tost could certainly do it, with his experience. But Franz is not the future, you have to admit that, too. So it's exciting. I hadn't heard anything about it, but if the results don't come now, the financiers will also get nervous. Christian Horner is also someone who reacts very sensitively to such reports. I'm now curious about his response to this.”