Jeremy Clarkson says his mate Christian Horner had “no inkling at all” he was about to be sacked as Red Bull Racing’s team principal, and predicted the 51-year-old will rebound strongly after his shock dismissal last week.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Clarkson’s Farm and former Top Gear host revealed he texted Horner after the Red Bull sacking news broke: “I sent him a text after the news of his dismissal broke, pointing out that I've been in his shoes in the past.
"I explained that when you wake the following morning, it's easy to think, 'Well, that's that, then'. But in my case, that wasn't that. I hadn't trodden on a snake. I'd trodden on a ladder. And I bet he does, too," he added.
Clarkson, who was sacked by the BBC in 2015 following the infamous Top Gear “fracas”, suggested that Horner’s abrupt exit from Red Bull might similarly be a turning point: “I spent a bit of time with Christian at the [British] Grand Prix on Sunday. And it was plain he had no inkling at all that the bullet was coming,” he said.
Horner working with Wolff is highly unlikely
Personal circumstances made the moment even more poignant. “[Horner] was with his 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, whose mother had just died of eye cancer. And we mostly talked about that and how the poor little mite was coping.”
Clarkson believes Horner’s pedigree as a team builder makes him a prime candidate for a return. “The clever money is saying he'll go to Alpine,” he wrote, before adding a caveat: “But next year they will have Mercedes engines. Which means Christian would have to work with Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff. And as those two really don't get on, I can't see that happening.”
Horner, who led Red Bull to 14 world championships in 20 years, has yet to comment publicly on his next move. But Clarkson’s own post-sacking success story with The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm serves as a pointed comparison – and an optimistic forecast.
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