HORNER’S DEPARTURE – WHAT DOES IT MEAN? 

Departing Red Bull boss Christian Horner has just released a statement following his sudden sacking, along with two other key staff, yesterday.

“After an incredible journey of 20 years together, it is with a heavy heart that today I say goodbye to the team I have absolutely loved.

“Every one of you, the amazing people at the factory, have been the heart and soul of everything that we have achieved.

“Win and lose, every step of the way, we have stood by each other as one and I will never forget that. It’s been a privilege being part of and leading this epic team and I am so proud of our collective accomplishments and you all.

“Thanks to the amazing partners and fans who enabled us to go racing. Your support has helped grow the team from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse that laid claim to six Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ Championships.

“Equally, thank you to our rivals, without whom there would be no racing at all. You’ve pushed us, challenged us, and enabled us to achieve accolades we never dreamed possible. The competition has made every victory sweeter and every setback an opportunity to develop and grow.

“Formula 1 is a sport built on relentless ambition, passion, and respect. The rivalries have been fierce, but the mutual drive to innovate and raise the bar is what has made this journey so special.

“It’s been an honour to be part of this incredible era of motorsport. I leave with immense pride in what we’ve achieved and also with what’s in the pipeline for 2026 – and huge respect for everyone who’s made F1 the pinnacle it is today.”

It’s been a drawn-out struggle …

Oliver Mintzlaff (left), CEO of Red Bull Corporate Projects, appears to have been the trigger for Horner’s departure – leaving Helmut Marko (right – rumoured to be retiring soon) to advise incoming new Race Team Principal Laurent Mekies (ex-Racing Bulls), who takes over from Horner (centre). Horner was contracted to 2030 – the payout will be huge. Photo by Alex Pantling/Red Bull Content Pool

THE BATTLE within Red Bull has been going on ever since Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away during the 2022 US GP weekend.

The feud between Horner and team advisor Helmut Marko had been growing for a while but without the big boss around to calm the waters, broke into an all-out war for control of the two Formula 1 teams owned by the Austrian drinks company.

With the support of the Red Bull’s major (51%) shareholder, Chalerm Yoovidhya, Horner was able to keep his position and was even close to pushing Helmut Marko completely out of the company’s motor racing program. Mark Mateschitz, who owns the remaining 49 per cent, managed to save his father’s racing hero from being sacked, but Horner became fully in charge of the company’s Grand Prix program, including the running of the famous Young Drivers Program.

The situation escalated just before the start of the 2024 season, when a scandal involving Christian Horner and his former PA, Fionna Hewitson, broke out. Among accusations of sexual harassment and unfair dismissal, Horner was nearly sacked on the eve of the Bahrain Grand Prix and flew from the UK to Austria, on the Thursday afternoon, to learn his fate from the boss’s mouth while sitting on a private plane in Salzburg.

Once again the Yoovidhya family saved Horner’s job, but this led to a violent reaction from Max Verstappen’s camp, as his father and manager Jos publicly demanded Horner’s resignation.

The Dutch side continue to pile the pressure on Red Bull to sack Horner, to no avail – until now – but the four-time World Champion quickly took himself out of the war between his management and the Team Principal, openly declaring “I have a good relationship with Christian,” on several occasions.

Now, the pressure imposed by the Verstappen camp on Red Bull’s CEO of Corporate Projects and New Investments, Oliver Mintzlaff, has resulted in the sacking of Horner, after 20 years on the job.

At the same time, Olly Hughes, longtime Head of Marketing, and Paul Smith, who served as Head of Communications for the last four years, have also departed the team, which will now be led by ex-Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies – but needing to urgently find some new names at the top of different key departments following this flurry of changes.

It is understood that Horner fronted Red Bull staff on Tuesday afternoon (UK time) to tell them of his departure, which was announced on Wednesday morning (Wednesday evening Australian time).

What does this mean for Max Verstappen?

Smiling assassin? While Max Verstappen has tried to remain impartial in the internal dispute, father Jos hasn’t contained his dislike for Horner ….Photo by Mark Thompson/ Red Bull Content Pool

It’s inevitable to link Max Verstappen’s future with the Red Bull racing family with Horner’s shock departure from the structure he led for more than 20 years.

Although the four-time World Champion has done his best to keep himself away from the internal war between Horner and the faction led by his father, Jos Verstappen, with the support of Helmut Marko and the Austrian shareholders, it’s clear that the driver’s manager had been putting the pressure on Red Bull to sack the Team Principal if they wanted to keep Max with them for the long haul.

Since the start of last year, when a sex scandal involving Horner and his former Personal Assistant, broke out, Max’s father and manager Jos Verstappen has openly demanded the Team Principal’s sacking.

During last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, when messages between Horner and Fionna Hewison, his former PA, were circulated by almost everyone in the paddock, Verstappen Sr. has insisted the Englishman couldn’t stay in his role, claiming, “if he stays, he’ll tear the team apart.”

With McLaren now clearly quicker than Red Bull, Max Verstappen’s management has allegedly activated the driver’s option to leave the team at the end of the year.

With the Austrian team outside the top three in the Constructors’ Championship, and with no prospect of improving its standings before the end of the year, Verstappen can be a free agent if he wishes to and, given the friction between his management and Horner, Red Bull is in the serious risk of losing its biggest asset – the four-time World Champion.

Sacking Horner seems to be Oliver Mintzlaff’s card to try and placate Verstappen’s departure to Mercedes and bringing a unifying personality, like veteran Laurent Mekies (who worked with the driver during his short stint with Toro Rosso in 2015 and the start of the 2016 season), is a clever move.

Of course the French engineer can do little or nothing to help improve the RB21’s performance and even less to accelerate the development of the team’s first Power Unit, set to make its debut in 2026 – but reportedly well behind Mercedes, Honda and Ferrari in development terms.

With Horner gone, the ball is now entirely in Verstappen’s court and it will be fascinating to hear what he has to say and what his body language will be in the two Grands – Belgium and Hungary –  Prix still to run before the mandatory mid-season summer shutdown.

If his management is satisfied with the changes, they’ll likely slow down talks with Mercedes – which they initiated, not Toto Wolff – lining up with the driver’s wishes to stay one more year with Red Bull, out of loyalty more than anything else.

If that’s not enough, then the drivers’ market will likely implode with a Verstappen move, as no one can be sure their contract will be respected if the top driver of the moment is free on the market.

Main Photo Mark Thompson/Red Bull Content Pool

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