British media harshly judge Christian Horner exit from Red Bull: 'He is paying the price'

"For a team very much accustomed to shock announcements, this was the bombshell to end all bombshells from Red Bull."

As a broad overview, The Independent summed it up perfectly concerning Christian Horner's astonishing exit after 20 years from a team he helped build from the remnants of Jaguar into an F1 powerhouse.

It was a jaw-dropping decision by the Red Bull board that can comfortably be filed under 'We didn't see that one coming', despite the various signs pointing to difficulties inside the team both on and off the track.

The Independent added: "After giving an emotional farewell to stunned staff at the team's HQ at around 10am [on Wednesday morning], Christian Horner drove away from the Milton Keynes campus - the site he built from the bottom up - for the last time."

The BBC attempted to analyse the reasons behind Horner's exit.

"In the end, it probably comes down to this. Results were on the slide. Senior staff, integral to Red Bull's success, had left. A series of questionable decisions had been made. A major reputational threat was still hovering around. And there were questions over their star asset", the latter point naturally referring to Max Verstappen and whether he will stay or leave.

"In that situation, the future of any CEO of any company would be looking rocky. In the end, it looks like Red Bull just ran out of reasons to keep Horner."

The Guardian foresees further trouble ahead for Red Bull following Horner's departure. "The removal of Christian Horner from his post as team principal at Red Bull represents both the end of an era in Formula 1 and, in the short term, the most turbulent period in the team’s history.

"It carries an import that will be felt right across the sport, a significance in how it played out and what happens next as the team Horner built and led to such enormous success faces an uncertain future."

The newspaper believes Horner's resignation may also be related to Mercedes' recent advances toward Verstappen.

"Red Bull’s decision to remove Horner may well constitute an effort to keep him on board, to placate Verstappen and his father in the face of Mercedes’ advances, or indeed, as has been posited, that Verstappen has already done a deal and Horner is paying the price."

British F1 broadcaster Sky Sports waded in by suggesting Red Bull's recent poor performances were to blame.

"That 'rollercoaster' of the second half of last year has continued this season, with Red Bull clearly a step behind McLaren, with a growing deficit to the leaders approaching 300 points at mid-season," it said.

"Horner has experienced periods when Red Bull did not win, so this situation is not new. However, the sudden drop in form - within a regulation cycle - was worrying and something rarely seen in F1."