Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he messaged Christian Horner after his Red Bull axing in a scathing op-ed article addressing the “permanently angry women of Instagram” and “all the other armchair pundits”.
Horner was sacked by Red Bull on Wednesday, the announcement calling time on his two decades with the Milton Keynes team, which included eight Drivers’ titles and six Constructors’.
‘Spittle-flecked rage about Christian Horner’
But just that like, he was gone.
“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years. With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.
“Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history,” said Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO Corporate Projects and Investments.
Horner, who is set for a massive £50 million Red Bull settlement, still doesn’t know why exactly he was sidelined from the team that he was pivotal in growing into a championship-winning out.
More on Christian Horner’s Red Bull sacking
👉 Why Christian Horner? Why now? Shock exit may not guarantee Max Verstappen
👉 The hidden details in Christian Horner’s final media session as Red Bull F1 boss
Clarkson equated it to his own sacking from the BBC in 2015 after he punched Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon and the broadcaster opted not to renew his contract, bringing the edition of the show to an end.
“All week,” wrote Clarkson in his latest column for The Sun, “the permanently angry women of Instagram have been filling their social media channels with spittle-flecked rage about Christian Horner.
““How come,” they wailed, “he got away scot-free after sexting a colleague, but has now been fired because Red Bull isn’t winning as much as it used to?”
“Couple of things on that argument. Number one. After those texts were leaked, Red Bull had two inquiries. Horner was grilled for hours. And it was decided that he had no case to answer. So he couldn’t very well be sacked for an offence he hadn’t committed.
“And number two, we don’t actually know why he was fired.”
Going on to speak about Horner’s success with Red Bull, he added: “I’m not going to speculate here on why it’s happened because, unlike the women of Instagram and all the other armchair pundits, I simply do not know.”
What he does know, though, is that this is not the end for Horner, revealing he sent the former Red Bull team principal a message of encouragement.
“I sent him a text after the news of his dismissal broke, pointing out that I’ve been in his shoes in the past,” he continued.
“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.”
The media personality went on to surmise that the “clever money is saying he’ll go to Alpine”, but that may not work as Alpine will have Mercedes engines and that “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.
“Ferrari? Possibly, but that would mean upping sticks and moving to Italy. And dealing with Sir Hamilton.
“Audi is coming into the sport next year, and Cadillac. And there’s talk the Chinese are making F1 noises.
“And all of them would jump at the chance of getting Horner.”
But as Clarkson himself proved in recent times, no one has to “necessarily have to do what you were doing before”.
“I,” he added, “became a farmer.
“So on that basis, Christian Horner might re-emerge in a couple of years as an astronaut, or in an ice-cream van or as a Foreign Secretary.”
As for Red Bull, the Briton reckons as happened when Man United sacked Alex Ferguson, the Milton Keynes F1 team could be in a world of hurt in the coming years.
“Well, look what happened to Man United when Ferguson was no longer at the helm,” he concluded. “On that basis, this once-great team may well end up, in a couple of years, in Formula 4.
Read next: Mansell stunned by Christian Horner sack as Red Bull warned of consequence
