Christian Horner's reign at Red Bull has been controversial to say the least. There have been calls for him to be kicked to the curb. These pleas have gone unheard and he's been around for two decades. However, the pleas have finally been heard and he has been fired.
On Wednesday, Red Bull GmbH released a short statement confirming that Horner’s time as team boss and CEO – a position that once seemed utterly unshakeable – has come to an end after 20 years.
Horner spoke to the assembled staff at the Milton Keynes headquarters on Wednesday morning, where it’s understood emotions ran high as he bid farewell. Staff on the ground are believed to have been vocal in showing disappointment at Horner’s departure, while senior figures within the team aligned with Horner are understood to have been stood down.
Oliver Hughes, chief marketing officer and Paul Smith, Red Bull’s group director of communications, have both stood down from their duties, further adding to the staff’s disappointment that Horner, a very popular boss on campus, has been released.
Horner’s methodical building of Red Bull saw him turn the squad into race winners in less than five years and World Champions by year six.
It’s been an incredible two decades, with Horner overseeing six Constructors’ Championships, eight Drivers’ championships across two separate spells of domination, 124 victories, 107 pole positions and 287 podium finishes.
"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,” said Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Red Bull’s Corporate Projects and Investments and representative of the Mark Mateschitz Austrian side of Red Bull’s shareholders.
“With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise, and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”
Two weeks ago, Horner had happily posed for photographs on the grid in Austria, standing alongside Red Bull majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya; a man some reports last year suggested had been instrumental in helping him retain his job in the face of intense public scrutiny following last year’s internal investigation by GmbH.
Over the last year, reports have popped up at sporadic intervals suggesting that Horner was on the verge of being fired, the most recent of these coming ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when reports emerged that the British executive’s future could revolve around the success of the upgrades introduced in recent races.
Officially, no reason has been given for Horner’s release from the team, and it’s been indicated that, at the factory, mystification abounds as to why this drastic action has been taken. At surface level, his dismissal appears something of an overreaction to the team’s performance dip this season after last year’s sudden end to the dominance.
After all, peaks and troughs in performance are expected in Formula 1 (F1) and while the driver's and constructor's championships are out of reach this season, Red Bull has won races on merit in F1 2025. The revolutionary rules on the way for 2026 will see Red Bull Powertrains become a constructor in its own right and offer the chance for the outfit to become a fully self-sufficient manufacturer in its own right; leading to opportunities as a supplier and even a potential automotive disruptor.
The noise under which Horner has operated in the last year is in stark contrast to the relative tranquility Toto Wolff has been afforded at Mercedes through what has been a tough regulation cycle in which the Brackley-based squad has only shown sporadic blips of outright winning capability.
The pressure started in January 2024, when it was made known that Red Bull GmbH was carrying out an internal investigation into allegations regarding his behaviour with a team employee.
This saga was blown up by the dramatic leaking of alleged material pertaining to Horner and the employee, by way of screenshotted material, to the F1 paddock by way of an anonymous e-mail. The contents quickly disseminated around the globe, putting Horner and Red Bull in a very embarrassing and humiliating position; although the contents have never been verified as genuine.
Two separate investigations by two different KCs in the UK cleared Horner, including through an appeals process initiated by the complainant.
While the matter faded into the background, aided by Red Bull GmbH and Geri, Christian’s wife, as their respective support continued, the issue for Horner was that, on track, Red Bull Racing was starting to struggle.
Having lost Rob Marshall to McLaren in late 2023, Red Bull lost Adrian Newey as the illustrious engineer decided to cut ties with the team he’d overseen the design of every title-winning machine created at Milton Keynes.
Newey hinted that the matter involving Horner had played some part in his decision to leave Red Bull, while the stability of Horner’s role as team boss meant that Jonathan Wheatley, who felt he had hit a glass ceiling in his role as sporting director, chose to take a new opportunity at Sauber.
Losing high-profile people like this may have been fine had the performance of the RB20 remained stable. However, on the very weekend of Newey’s confirmed departure, McLaren’s MCL38 stepped forward and, while Max Verstappen was able to massage home the title after the dominance of the opening quarter, it was clear the pressure was on for 2025.
The RB21, designed by Pierre Waché outright as the French designer stepped forward to lead Red Bull’s technical department after Newey, is a difficult beast to figure out. Clearly not the class of the field, the RB21 has taken occasional victories and pole positions in Verstappen’s hands but, in the hands of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, is toiling around at the back of the field.
This continuation of the pattern established last year, as Sergio Perez, a proven capable support driver to Verstappen in previous years, fell apart behind the wheel of the RB20.
In the hands of several drivers, the Red Bull is a dreadful machine. In the hands of Verstappen, it’s a car in the mix at the front. Either way, this disconnect has become something fundamental, a pattern of several years to create a one-driver outfit unable to contend for the Constructors’ Championship against more balanced teams like McLaren currently has.
Given the optics of the last year, perhaps Horner was given the opportunity to keep his job provided the performance level continued. With that not materialising and no clear indication that the team, sans Newey, is going in the right direction; maybe it was only a matter of time before starting afresh became an inevitability.
One F1 figure who has been calling for that axe for some time is six-time grand prix winner turned pundit, Ralf Schumacher, who believes that Horner’s inability to re-build Red Bull due to, "his personal issues" was "why Red Bull pulled the ripcord" on their team boss.
Schumacher believes Horner’s inability to attract suitable replacements for such big name departures was the final straw for Red Bull management, with results not improving.
Red Bull Racing sit 4th in the current Constructors’ Championship standings, 288 points behind runaway leaders, McLaren, while Verstappen is 69 points off top spot in the Drivers’ Championship, his hopes of a fifth straight crown dwindling.
Speaking to Sky Deutschland, Schumacher said: "Basically, you have to say that Christian Horner had an incredibly successful time with Red Bull, for 20 years, winning many titles. So great respect for his achievements, but of course there has been a big private issue in recent years – from then on the whole issue became a bit unwieldy and many people left the team and Christian Horner simply didn’t manage to rebuild this team, to get new people."
Helmut Marko has released a statement following the sacking of Christian Horner from his position as Red Bull CEO and team principal. Tensions between the pair were known to be frought at times but the veteran Austrian has broken his silence, over 24 hours on from Horner's shock dismissal.
"Christian and I have worked together very successfully for over 20 years – both in Formula 1 and in Formula 3000," began Marko's statement. "I would like to sincerely thank Christian for that. During this time, we were able to celebrate an incredible number of outstanding achievements."
"We helped develop two World Drivers’ Champions and several Grand Prix winners. That has always been – and still is – the Red Bull way. As for the current sporting situation: there are still 12 races to go, and we will continue to fight for the Drivers’ Championship as long as it's mathematically possible."
Horner was given the opportunity to address his former employees at Red Bull's UK base in Milton Keynes on Wednesday. He said: "Yesterday, I was informed by Red Bull that operationally I would no longer be involved with the business or the team moving forward."
"I will still remain employed by the company, but, operationally the baton will be handed over. It came as a shock to myself. I've had a chance to reflect over the last 12 hours and wanted to stand in front of all of you to break this news and to express my gratitude to each and every single member of the team that has given so much during the last 20-and-a-half years."
"When I arrived 20 years ago, there were a few less grey hairs. I walked into a team and did not know what to expect but I was immediately welcomed and we started to build what became a powerhouse in F1. Watching and being part of this team, has been the biggest privilege of my life."
When Horner says he will remain employed by the company, he is referring to exit terms that will see him remain on gardening leave until the end of the year. Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said Horner had told him "no reason was given to him" for his release. Red Bull's statement announcing the decision did not give a reason.
Horner has overseen two periods of dominance by Red Bull in F1, with Sebastian Vettel and the team winning four consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships from 2010-2013 and Max Verstappen winning the last four drivers' championships from 2021-2024. Red Bull were also constructors' champions in 2022 and 2023.
His exit comes ahead of the first season in which Red Bull will produce their own engine, with the team having decided to set up its own operation to coincide with the introduction of new regulations in 2026. Horner added: "What lies ahead with [Red Bull] Powertrains is truly exciting and I will just be very sad I won't be here to see the engine performance."
Laurent Mekies has been confirmed as the new Red Bull Racing CEO as he moves on from the team principal role at sister squad, Racing Bulls.
It looks like the sacking has had a good and bad influence. Horner oversaw a complete dominance in the sport and that kind of influence can be hard to replace. Red Bull might go through a few trial and errors until they find the right direction to go in.
On the other hand, it seems like controversy follows him around like a shadow. In those situations, it's always best to keep your distance from that. A close association can lead to a possible connection and entanglement to the issue.
With what Horner has accomplished, I'm sure he'll be able to find a new job in no time.