“In time, people will miss the excellence Horner outfit brought”: Fans react after another high profile departure from Red Bull


F1 fans online have shared their reaction to long-serving engineer Ole Schack leaving Red Bull Racing in 2026. It has been reported that the Dane has handed in his resignation to leave the team after two decades of service.

F1-insider reported on Saturday that Schack has handed in his resignation to those at Red Bull, apparently citing a changing working environment at the Austrian team as the reason. Schack had been with the team since the days of Sebastian Vettel and was considered a key part of Max Verstappen’s engineering team.

Now, F1 fans online have shared their reactions to this news, with many questioning the organizational changes at Red Bull over the past year.

“In time, people will miss the excellence Horner outfit brought,” said one fan.

In time, people will miss the excellence Horner outfit brought.

“This team is falling apart,” claimed another user.

this team is falling apart

“In a few years, only two clowns Wache and Mekies will remain,” said another fan.

In a few years, only two clowns Wache and Mekies will remain.

Here are some more reactions:

“Even more will leave when Horner joins another team,” wrote another user.

Even more will leave when Horner joins another team.

“The only person who was glueing this team was the late Dietrich, co founder of Redbull. After his death, everything became Game of Thrones,” claimed another fan.

The only person who was glueing this team was the late Dietrich, co founder of Redbull. After his death, everything become game of thrones

“It’s not Red Bull anymore,” said another user.

It’s not Red Bull anymore

It remains to be seen what this latest development within the Red Bull ranks means for Max Verstappen’s future at the team. His future beyond 2026 has already been questioned by many, especially now that the RB22 has failed to match up with the front-running teams in the early stages of the 2026 F1 season.

At the Japanese GP, the Dutch driver also suggested he might retire from F1 entirely at the end of this year, stating he isn’t enjoying driving the new generation cars.


Max Verstappen’s Red Bull contract includes 2026 exit clause, report claims

Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix - Source: Getty
Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix – Source: Getty

The Race has reported that Max Verstappen has a specific clause in his Red Bull contract that would allow him to leave the team at the end of the 2026 season. This was reportedly put in with the view of Verstappen being able to explore his options if the Laurent Mekies-led outfit failed to be competitive amid the new regulations in 2026.

It is understood that if Max Verstappen is not in the top three of the drivers’ standings by a certain date in the contract, he could leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit. This is similar but stricter than the exit clause discussed last year, which supposedly permitted the driver to walk away if he was outside the top-3 in the standings by the summer break in 2025.

Verstappen sits ninth in the 2026 drivers’ standings after three rounds. Currently, it seems very unlikely that the four-time world champion will reach the top two at any point this year, especially given the RB22’s lack of competitiveness along with Mercedes’ dominance.