Speculation that the grand prix in Imola this weekend could mark Christian Horner's final race as Red Bull Racing's team principal is losing credibility, with multiple sources now dismissing the claims.
The 2024 season's leadership turmoil and scandals, which led to high-profile departures like Adrian Newey and contributed to Red Bull's current performance struggles, have largely faded this year.
However, Osterreich, a newspaper often closely aligned with Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, recently claimed Horner could leave after Imola.
A British newspaper countered this, citing a Red Bull source who denied the rumour.
Germany's largest daily, Bild, also casts doubt, stating: "Bild cannot confirm this information," while noting co-CEO Oliver Mintzlaff's dissatisfaction with the team's situation but continued faith in its leadership.
Mintzlaff, speaking at the Saudi Arabian GP, reinforced this, saying: "I have complete confidence in every single employee. This also applies to our management team. Helmut and Christian both want maximum success and will subordinate everything to that."
Austria's Kleine Zeitung echoed this sentiment, asserting Horner has "absolutely no reason to fear for his job - quite the opposite."
The report suggested Horner, 51, has been positioning himself for a broader role within the Red Bull organisation, with rumours of a potential promotion already circulating last year.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, speaking to Sky Deutschland, also expressed scepticism about Horner's exit, saying: "I had not heard anything about it myself."
He argued that technical director Pierre Wache, not Horner, should be under the most scrutiny for the 2025 car's shortcomings, stating: "He clearly can't be trusted to get the car right."
Schumacher also downplayed Horner's responsibility for the exits of Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Will Courtenay, and others, noting: "There was always going to be a time when people would leave for other teams. That was also the case at Mercedes. No matter what happened, he would not have been able to keep everyone."
Despite this, Schumacher acknowledged Horner's ongoing difficulties, including performance issues and internal "unrest".
"That's true," the six-time grand prix winner said. "But who could replace Horner tomorrow? It's not so easy.
"With his experience, Franz Tost could take on a transition period, or even for a year or two. But Franz is not the future, just because of his age."
Bild reported that Red Bull's Imola upgrade centres on a new front wing, with Schumacher warning: "If the results don't start coming now, the sponsors and the shareholders will start to get nervous at some point."
