Jeremy Clarkson reveals text to F1 boss after surprise sacking
Writing in his latest column for The Sun, the former Top Gear host backed the F1 boss who was unexpectedly fired from Red Bull earlier this week.
Clarkson expressed his sympathy for the Dutchman, explaining he could relate with his experience being fired as as presented on Top Gear after he punched producer on the show Oisin Tymon.
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"I sent him a text after the news of his dismissal broke, pointing out that I've been in his shoes in the past," Clarkson wrote.
Christian Horner, pictured at Silverstone, was sacked by Red Bull (Bradley Collyer / PA) "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."
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After the media personality left Top Gear with the BBC in 2015, Amazon swooped in to offer Clarkson and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May three seasons on a car show with a similar premise, which became The Grand Tour.
But the real change came when Clarkson switched tack from cars to tractors, took over running his Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, and launched Clarkson's Farm in 2021 to much acclaim.
With a similar length career in their respective roles - Clarkson had been on Top Gear since 2002, while Horner had been at the helm of Red Bull since 2005 - the Clarkson expects comparable success for the dismissed driving boss.
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He wrote: "I spent a bit of time with Christian at the [British] Grand Prix on Sunday. And it was plain he had no inkling at all that the bullet was coming.
"He was with his 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, whose mother had just died of eye cancer. And we mostly talked about that and how the poor little mite was coping."
He added, however, that Audi coming into the sport next year, along with Cadillac and Chinese teams, would all "jump at the chance of getting Horner," but speculated that, like Clarkson himself, a career change could take him anywhere.
Red Bull, meanwhile, are beginning a new era under Laurent Mekies, who admitted he has big shoes to fill.
Max Verstappen's future remains in the balance, too, who is currently 69 points behind Oscar Piastri in the drivers' standings, and his stance on his team principal's sacking remains unclear, though he thanked Horner on social media after the announcement.
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Clarkson's expectations for Red Bull are not positive, however.
He wrote: "Well, look what happened to Man United when Ferguson was no longer at the helm.
"On that basis, this once-great team may well end up, in a couple of years, in Formula 4."
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