The new dictation of Bernie Ecclestone has all but nipped a future collaboration with Christian Horner in a bid to secure a share in Alpine, which was making a big buzz at the paddock not too long ago. In his usual dry humour, speaking openly before the Hungarian Grand Prix, the retired F1 supremo dismissed the speculation by saying there is more chance of Lewis [Hamilton] getting his eighth title than that. It makes a snappy comment, and it is also a reference to just how big such a transaction is or even the steep climb that Hamilton must scale again to win a world title.
These rumours were not by chance. One of the most earth-shattering team boss changes in recent Formula 1 memory was the statement by Red Bull on 9 July that its Christian Horner would be replaced in the role of CEO and team principal by Laurent Mekies. Although the official story continued to conceal reasons, the rumor mill is still speculating at a drop in performance throughout the season and a series of high-profile employee resignations, which rather than reasons, haven been previously known to kick the bucket of the managerial term of office in the cut-throat Formula 1 world.
Not one to remain silent on his opinions, Ecclestone was not reserved on the sudden-ness of the departure of Horner. He described it as a bit ruthless but said it was a change in top-level management and inevitability comes with it now and then. They said this is what they are going to do and that is it. They had no choice but get on and do it according to Ecclestone to Sky Sports F1. Cruel or not, it reminds everyone that there is very little place to be sentimental when the billion dollar brands and the reputations around the world of sports are involved.
At this moment the future is more uncertain than ever to Horner, in his career. There are speculations of how determined he is to re-enter the Formula 1 scene, or even make an effort to own part of a team in any of the other Grand Prix teams in the paddock – an aspiration that Ecclestone at one point suggests Horner had all along in his long Red Bull stint. That being said, as per Ecclestone, unless Horner can find an investor that can be persuaded to bankroll a team acquisition, even that possibility is closed to him as of yet.
Giving it an added bit of poignancy, Ecclestone also commented on the record-chasing eighth world title of Lewis Hamilton. He admired the talent that remained steady even though the seven-time champion was aging but he wondered about the risks and legacy issues that aging superstars have to deal with. I think he should get out of the way, a little. Oh, God, it would be awful in case something would happen to him now. It was bad, Ecclestone said that, in a sport where death can lurk round corners even when what happens on track seems to be a job well done.
Cumulatively, the latest remarks of Ecclestone bring some level of reality as Red Bull and Alpine are currently going through troubled waters both within and without the racing track. Even dreamers and insiders find it hard not to fantasise about Cinderella stories, shock alliances and intoxicating dreams about the careers of F1 drivers, but it is a world governed by hard logic, hard cash and even harsher decisions. In the case of a Horner-Ecclestone Alpine fantasy, the story can now be categorized as the work of the paddock legends.
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