IndyCar veteran Conor Daly's father claims 'something odd' at Red Bull after Christian Horner bombshell

Conor Daly's father, Derek Daly, shared his take on Red Bull's sacking of team principal Christian Horner on July 9. The Brit was shown the exit door by the Austrian outfit, and Daly, the former F1 driver, feels that there is something 'odd' about the whole ordeal in regard to the last 18 months at Red Bull's F1 team.

Christian Horner was in charge of Red Bull Racing ever since its inception back in 2005. Before his sacking, he played a crucial role in bringing top accolades such as six constructors' titles and eight drivers' championships.

However, 2024 was a tumultuous campaign for Christian Horner and Red Bull despite Max Verstappen winning the drivers' championship. Among the several problems, firstly, Horner was in the firing line following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him in February by a female colleague (it was later dismissed).

The legendary F1 aerodynamicist Adrian Newey also made it known that he was leaving Red Bull (officially joined Aston Martin on March 1, 2025; his start date was announced in September 2024). Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley also made a switch to Sauber (officially joined on 1st April 2025, was announced in August 2024).

Horner came under pressure as Red Bull lost out on the 2024 Constructors Championship, and most recently due to the Max Verstappen-Mercedes 2026 reports. In line with everything that happened in Christian Horner's Red Bull in the last 18 months, including the recent sacking, Derek Daly came up with his take via X.

"Shocker that Christian Horner got sacked….there is something odd about all of this uncertainty of past 18 months….is it Max driven? Now we might have 2 unstable Red Bull teams," Daly wrote.

Red Bull owns two outfits in the pinnacle of motorsport, the main Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 team, and also the junior outfit, Racing Bulls. Following Horner's sacking, the team principal role has been taken over by Laurent Mekies (previously Racing Bulls team boss).

Conor Daly slammed Red Bull's 'broken system' in April

Conor Daly - Source: Getty

While Derek Daly has made his feelings known following the sacking of Christian Horner, his son Conor Daly made a big claim against Red Bull in April this year, when it was under the leadership of Christian Horner. He specifically targeted the outfit's ruthless stance on driver swaps after Liam Lawson was dropped just after the first two races this year.

In line with Red Bull's reputation, Conor Daly said (via the Speed Street podcast):

"I like Max a lot. He is a good dude and one of the best drivers in the world, but I think Liam, for sure, deserved more of a chance than two races. It's a broken system." (From 27:01 onwards)

Liam Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull, who, on his end, has also not done any justice to his promotion to the main team.

With Christian Horner out of the Red Bull picture, it is going to be fascinating to see how the Austrian outfit will deal with the ongoing 2026 Max Verstappen-Mercedes situation, and also its second seat woes.