Jeremy Clarkson compared Christian Horner’s surprising departure at Red Bull with his own farewell to the BBC. In his current column for The Sun, the former “top gear” cult moderator demonstratively stands behind Horner and reports that he sent him an SMS after the message became known.
“I sent him a message when the message came out about his dismissal and wrote to him that I myself was once in this situation,” writes the moderator. “I explained to him that it is easy to think of the next morning: ‘Well, that’s what it was.’ But for me it was not the end.
Clarkson left the BBC in 2015 after beating the “Top Gear” producer Oisin Tymon. The incident led the BBC Clarkson’s contract. The end of the new edition of the cult car ending, which started in 2002.
Amazon reacted quickly and offered Clarkson and his co-moderators Richard Hammond and James May a $ 250 million deal for three seasons of a new show: “The Grand Tour”. When the show started in November 2016, it became the most watched premiere of the streaming service.
When the passion for cars gradually subsided, Clarkson devoted himself to his farm – and celebrated a surprise success with “Clarkson’s Farm”. Similar to himself, Clarkson now calculates with a second career frame at Horner after leaving the Red Bull team based in Milton Keynes.
“I spent a little time with Christian in Silverstone on Sunday. And it was obvious that he had no idea what was going to happen to him,” writes Clarkson. “He was there with his eleven -year -old daughter Olivia, whose mother had just died of eye cancer. We were particularly talking about it. And about how the poor little girl can handle it.”
Clarkson believes in a change of Horner to Alpine
Clarkson’s confidence in Horner’s future may not be unfounded. With 20 years of experience in building one of the most successful Formula 1 teams, Horner brings exactly the skills that urgently need many stricken or new racing stables.
“The clever observers say he goes to alpine,” continues Clarkson. “But they get Mercedes engines next year. And that would mean that Christian would have to work together with silver arrow Toto Wolff. Since the two really can’t stand themselves, I can hardly imagine it.”
But Clarkson sees completely different chances for Horner beyond Alpine: “Audi will come into Formula 1 next year, and Cadillac too. And from China you can now hear Formula 1 rumors. All of them would lick their fingers to Horner.”
For Red Bull himself, Clarkson sees the future less rosy: “You just have to see what happened to Manchester United when Alex Ferguson was no longer there,” he writes. “If you take this as a yardstick, this big team could land in Formula 4 in a few years.”