[IanJRedman]

[...] they will still honour contracts/pay/show stuff for the next 18 months to 2 years.... by which time, these comments will probably be forgotten, so what is the point?

(written before I saw Neil's reply above)

That's exactly what I was trying to say, but couldn't quite find the right words. The fact remains that they'd still be filming and releasing new material with him for up to the next couple of years - so dropping him after that seems to serve absolutely no purpose.

But as you say, there's a possibility this was already in the air? After so many years of Top Gear, The Grand Tour was always going to have a finite lifespan, as demonstrated by them ending the regular, studio-based series when they did. And there's only so far you can take Clarkson's Farm as well.