Christian Horner handed 'under pressure' verdict after Red Bull axe

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer was caught by surprise at the timing of Christian Horner's axing from Red Bull, but noted that the former team boss was clearly "under pressure". 

Red Bull has lost numerous senior figures across the past 18 months, including Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and now Horner. 

Since Newey's departure to Aston Martin in particular, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has faced an increasing number of issues with its car. 

The current RB21 often struggles on the opening day of a grand prix, resulting in significant overnight changes in an attempt to please Max Verstappen. 

Verstappen has fallen adrift of the title fight and has been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes, who are expected to enter the new power unit regulations with a strong package. 

Red Bull has experienced a noticeable drop-off in performance since key figures left, which Palmer is confident increased the pressure on Horner. 

In the end, it was decided that change was needed after the British Grand Prix, although Palmer did not expect the announcement so soon after a race weekend.

"Yeah, I mean surprised at the timing," Palmer said on the F1 Nation podcast. "I think there's been a lot of fallout at Red Bull the last 18 months. 

"So there's been many, many high profile names leaving the team, including Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley. And I think there was a sense that with things falling away this year, Christian was under pressure. 

"But I completely agree that the timing and the suddenness of this post-Silverstone, I think it's caught everyone off-guard. 

"I feel like it leaves Red Bull in a real tight spot as well in terms of obviously Laurent stepping up, but it's a big job for him, because Red Bull is such a different beast to the B-team."