It appears that former Red Bull F1 Team Principal Christian Horner “lost out in a power struggle with Red Bull’s parent company in Austria, and with the father” of driver Max Verstappen, which may have led to his firing, according to Cary & Brown of the London TELEGRAPH. Horner yesterday “admitted his sacking came as a ‘shock’ in a tearful farewell speech” to staff at the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes. Verstappen’s future has been the “subject of frenzied speculation and the possibility of losing him to a rival team will no doubt have focused the minds of the Red Bull GmbH board and the company’s majority shareholder,” Chalerm Yoovidhya. Red Bull have also “axed two staff members who were seen as allies of Horner.” Paul Smith, director of communications and social media of Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology, and Oliver Hughes, group chief marketing and commercial officer, were also “relieved of their duties.” The decision comes 17 months after Horner was “embroiled in a ‘sexting’ scandal involving a female member of staff.” He was subsequently “cleared of coercive behaviour by an internal investigation ordered by Red Bull’s parent company in Austria and carried out by an independent barrister.” But the “shadow of that controversy has never truly lifted.” Sources said that Horner is “likely to take a break from the sport to spend time with his family before contemplating his next steps” (London TELEGRAPH, 7/9).
SURPRISING MOVE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Robinson & Vipers noted while the timing of the switch “caught the F1 world by surprise,” Horner’s exit “wasn’t entirely unexpected.” Red Bull has “struggled to produce a competitive car this season” and currently sits fourth in the constructors’ championship. Verstappen has “grown so frustrated that he has been publicly linked with a possible move to Mercedes” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/9).
UNDER THE HOOD: In London, Tom Cary wrote Horner was “safe” while Red Bull were winning, but that success was “only papering over the cracks.” This year, Horner’s relationship with Verstappen’s father, Jos, and Motorsport Adviser Helmut Marko “began to fracture again.” Cary: “At the same time, the power battle with Austria, which has been going on since the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, returned to the fore.” Horner was not just CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing, he “headed up the Powertrains and Advanced Technologies businesses, too.” The marketing of both teams was also “run in-house.” Sources said that Red Bull Austria “first proposed spinning off the marketing for Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s sister team in F1, earlier this season.” Horner was then “spotted heading to a key meeting” with Red Bull GmbH CEO of Corporate Projects and New Investments Oliver Mintzlaff following a “desperately disappointing” home race in Austria two weekends ago, where it was “proposed that Red Bull Austria take full control of marketing for both teams.” Even then, there was “no inkling that Horner would be sacked so abruptly” and the “threat of Verstappen departing was seemingly the final straw” (London TELEGRAPH, 7/9).
INTERNAL MATTERS: REUTERS’ Alan Baldwin wrote Jos was “much less of a fan and called last year for Horner to go after allegations of misconduct were made by a female employee.” Sky Sports TV commentator Martin Brundle said, “It is not completely out of the blue, given the problems in the team.” He added, “I believe it’s performance-related as well. It perhaps makes it more likely that Verstappen will stay there -- I think that became quite personal” (REUTERS, 7/9). ESPN.com’s Nate Saunders wrote the “simplest take” is that Red Bull is “choosing Max Verstappen over Horner for its long-term future, a roll of the dice to get him to stay amid growing rumors of a move to Mercedes, a declaration to its four-time world champion that it will do anything to give him an opportunity to add to that tally” (ESPN.com, 7/9).
Columnists weighed in on Horner’s exit:
- Christian Horner’s Exit Signals a Full Reboot Is in Effect at Red Bull Racing.
- A timeline of Red Bull’s F1 highs and lows with fired team principal Christian Horner.
- Inside the power struggle at heart of Christian Horner’s exit – and what it means for Max Verstappen’s F1 future.
- Wins glued uneasy bonds together. When they stopped, it was over for Horner.
- Christian Horner caused Red Bull to rot. No tears — he had it coming.
- Christian Horner’s victimhood and hissy fits exhausted Red Bull’s patience.
- Christian Horner was damaged goods from moment sexting scandal erupted.
