George Russell makes outlandish Verstappens accusation over Christian Horner exit

George Russell could come under fire after espousing a theory about Max Verstappen and his father Jos, and the role he felt they played in the axing of Christian Horner as Red Bull team principal last year.

After 20 years at the helm, Horner was sacked by the team he had helped become champions twice over after the successful eras for Sebastian Vettel from 2010-2013, and Verstappen from 2021-2024.

Red Bull, though, struggled with its car from mid-2024, with Verstappen just doing enough to keep Lando Norris at bay to win a fourth consecutive drivers' title, but with the team losing out in the constructors' championship to McLaren.

The Woking-based team then hit the ground running in 2025, leaving Red Bull and Verstappen trailing as Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri initially went toe to toe before the Dutch driver bounced back over the second half of the year.

By then, however, Horner had gone, with the Briton dismissed following the British Grand Prix.

Aside from the slide in results, before then, Horner's private life hit the headlines in 2024 after he was accused of inappropriate conduct by a female employee at Red Bull.

In the early stages, Jos Verstappen was highly outspoken on the issue, indicating the team would implode if Horner remained in charge. He ultimately did so, surviving two internal inquiries, before the Red Bull hierarchy felt he needed to go, given the dip in form.

Last year, Russell also had to bide his time before signing a new contract with Mercedes, as Verstappen was heavily linked with a move to the team before a performance clause in his Red Bull contract prevented the move from going ahead.

Speaking at the time, and aired in an upcoming episode of the latest 'Drive to Survive' series, Russell aired a theory as to what was going on at Red Bull with Horner and the Verstappens, and the impact it was having on his own future.

"The Verstappens clearly have a lot of power in that team [Red Bull]," he said. "They like to manipulate situations quite a lot.

"For whatever reason, they don't like Horner, and they are trying to get Horner out.

"I wonder if all of this [the Verstappen to Mercedes rumour] is a bit of a play and a stir, trying to put pressure on Red Bull, that he'll only continue there if Christian is gone."

As it transpired, Russell was proven to be incorrect, but given his poor relationship with Verstappen, it remains to be seen what the Dutch driver will think of his rival's remarks.