Christian Horner has officially been dismissed from his role as Team Principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, bringing an end to his 20-year leadership of the team.
The announcement was made on Wednesday evening (NZST), just days after the British Grand Prix. Red Bull also confirmed Laurent Mekies as Horner’s replacement in both leadership positions.
Horner departs following a challenging period for the team. Over the past 18 months, he faced two investigations into sexual misconduct—both of which cleared him, and increasing friction with key figures within Red Bull.
Martin Brundle shared on Sky Sports News that he reached out to Horner after the announcement. Brundle revealed that Horner told him no explanation had been provided for his sacking.
“I put a message through to him to say sorry to read that,” Brundle said.
“I said to him, ‘Can we have a chat before I have to go on TV, because I want to know more about it from your point of view?’.
“He wasn’t able to do that. What he did say to me was that no reason was given to him as to why he’s been released. That’s the only information I have on that.”
Brundle commented on the surprising timing of Horner’s removal given the context of the internal issues and emerging rifts within the team.
“It’s completely out of the blue, given things that are going on, and these sorts of problems in the team, [and] words getting out of team Verstappen and others,” he said.
“I’m quite sad about it, if I’m honest, I consider Christian a friend. He’s done an incredible job there for 20 years and won an awful lot of races and world championships, for drivers and for the team.
“He took it from what was the Stewart team through Jaguar, and it was struggling, to a massive campus in Milton Keynes with a huge trophy cabinet.
“But, you know, it’s not been difficult to feel in the Formula One paddock and to observe and to hear that things were not particularly rosy.”
Speculation has swirled around Max Verstappen’s future, but Brundle suggested that the situation could actually lead to the Dutch driver staying at Red Bull.
“I think that it became quite personal in what some call ‘Team Verstappen,” he said.
“So I think there are a number of aspects.
“I mean every point, podium, victory, and world championship Max has, through his own genius driving, it must be said, is in a Red Bull Car, and he’s often stated he wants to see his career out there if he can.
“But then they’re debuting their own engine for the first time next year, and what is going to be the biggest change in Formula One history of car and power unit at the same time.
“So Christian’s been in the seat and driving that aspect of the team along completely.
“We know that Max has an exit clause based on where he is in the World Championship at the end of this month.
“Does this mean he’s more likely to go, more likely to stay? I can only surmise that it is more likely to stay in the team.”
Verstappen is contracted through to the end of the 2028 season, though rumours of a move to Mercedes have persisted. Brundle also linked Horner’s downfall to the changing internal structure at Red Bull since the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
“This all goes back to Dietrich Mateschitz dying,” Brundle said.
“Nothing happened without Dietrich signing off, and he was the absolute leader of that group.
Since his death, you’ve seen all sorts of other people and structures coming in, and you can see where it all started to go wrong.”
Craig Slater of Sky Sports News pointed to a shift in the power dynamics within Red Bull. Thai co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, who had previously supported Horner, is said to have recently withdrawn that support.
Brundle speculated that the team’s on-track performance may have also been a contributing factor in the decision.
“I believe it’s probably performance-related as well,” he said. “The car is struggling, although they’ve won races this year, of course, they’ve won races brilliantly…but nothing’s forever.
“Things move on, and Red Bull has already put in place significant changes.”
Despite the shock announcement, Brundle believes the team has the structure and talent in place to continue strongly.
“The sort of ‘maverick team boss’…that era is moving away,” he added.
“It’s more a collection of specialists in management roles than one talisman out there if you like.
“There’s incredible momentum in these teams. There are well over 1000 people making two racing cars to go around the circuit 24 times a year.
“I don’t see the team going to fall over immediately.”
Header Image: Sutton Images/Getty Images
