RED BULL boss Christian Horner is set to face a hearing into allegations of inappropriate behaviour on Friday.
The fall-out could have huge ramifications on the 50-year-old who has been with the team since January 2005.
Here SunSport looks at the five candidates who could replace him, if he leaves his position.
Oliver Oakes
Oakes would be a ready-made replacement and interestingly has a similar career path to Horner.
The Brit, 35, is a former racing driver turned team-owner in the lower formulas, just like Horner.
However, Oakes is also a former Red Bull junior driver so has strong links with the race team and company’s HQ in Austria.
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He is currently team boss of the Hitech GP team that had applied to join F1 in 2026, only for their bid to be rejected.
Hitech GP compete in Formula 2 and Formula 3 and run drivers from the Red Bull young driver programme.
Jonathan Wheatley
The 56-year-old currently serves as Red Bull Racing’s Sporting Director.
Wheatley started in F1 with Benetton as a junior mechanic working his way up to become the chief mechanic until he joined Red Bull in 2006.
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He has held the role of team manager and is now responsible for the operation of the team with many feeling his work has been a major factor behind the team’s success.
Wheatley shot to prominence as a result of his radio messages with former race director Michael Masi at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP where Max Verstappen controversially beat Lewis Hamilton to the title.
Guenther Steiner
The colourful Italian is out of work after being ditched by the Haas team over the winter.
Steiner has bags of F1 experience and is a popular figure in the paddock although has never taken charge of a team capable of fighting for wins.
However, his previous spell working at Red Bull as a technical manager was littered with problems of poor performance and overheating issues with the car.
Oliver Mintzlaf
The German businessman is currently serving as part of a three-man management team of Red Bull.
He previously held the role working as CEO of Red Bull Leipzig and as Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer.
The former long-distance runner, 48, has also worked for sportswear giants, Puma.
While he has no experience of running an F1 team, he would offer the energy drink a safe pair of hands until they found a permanent replacement.
Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko
A double-act of Max Verstappen’s father and Red Bull’s advisor would be a controversial choice.
Both are aligned with the current world champion and would see the team effectively be wrapped around the Dutchman.
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That would not bode well for Sergio Perez, who is in the other seat.
Both Marko and Verstappen are former F1 drivers but in the interests of rebuilding harmony, it would be an unthinkable suggestion.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
