Adrian Newey has toppled the first domino to Red Bull’s much-suspected downfall by reportedly quitting. If the Milton Keynes outfit confirms this development, it’ll become concrete evidence for the rumored ‘power struggle’ that Christian Horner wants to win against other key leaders within the team. Moreover, it could jeopardize Max Verstappen’s winning position and drag Red Bull into the midfield and behind. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has already warned Red Bull about this potential disaster.

Red Bull’s stability was wrecked when the Christian Horner investigation was made public. What followed was ugly. Jos Verstappen openly criticized the Red Bull boss, Mercedes attempted to poach Max Verstappen, and cracks in a seemingly perfect organization surfaced. Yet, their on-track performance has only bettered. A sizeable credit for this goes to Adrian Newey, who focuses on improved technical performance rather than politics.

Such a tension-filled work environment, however, is like a balloon floating in a room full of pins. One moment of contact and pop goes everything. Ralf Schumacher, who has criticized Horner on more than one occasion, yet again highlighted how Adrian Newey’s reported exit is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Red Bull is falling apart,” Schumacher said, as quoted by Sport1.de. “Adrian Newey needs harmony. He needs a good atmosphere. I give Red Bull two more years and if they continue to hold on to Horner, then the team will sink into mediocrity. I’m pretty sure about it.”

While Red Bull, as a whole, continues to fire on all cylinders on track, Horner remains under fire from many stakeholders. However, Schumacher is not the first person to question Horner’s skills to dig Red Bull out of the hole.

Ernest Knoors casts grave doubts on Christian Horner’s leadership

The Christian Horner scandal is quite twisted. Unhappy with him being cleared of any wrongdoing, his accuser has filed an appeal for a follow-up investigation. This means that the Red Bull turmoil will continue. With Adrian Newey quitting, former Ferrari engineer Ernest Knoors fears a ripple effect that’ll cause many other team members to leave.

“It is a big risk for Red Bull,” Knoors told RN365. “The stability of the team. What else is going to happen? Who else is going to leave? At some point, a strong leader, in this case Christian Horner, does have to make sure he keeps enough techies and bright minds in that team. And is Christian Horner currently the undisputed and impeccable leader who can provide that? That may well be questionable,” he concluded.

Though reports claim that Horner doesn’t fear the loss of his star Red Bull performers, a big uncertainty now looms. Will Newey’s exit cause reigning champion Max Verstappen to quit as well?