After two decades at the helm, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been sacked. This news comes after weeks of speculation about Max Verstappen’s future at Milton Keynes – which has had repercussions for Horner’s leadership.
Horner replaced after failure to address key issues at Red Bull
It was roughly eighteen months ago that Christian Horner found himself surrounded in controversy.
The 51-year-old was faced with allegations that, beyond generating plenty of discussion in F1 news cycles, created rifts within the team.
At the height of this controversy, Jos Verstappen (father of Max) passionately argued that Horner should resign from his position.
Jos Verstappen argued that the British team principal was negatively impacting the team and having a detrimental impact.
“There is tension here while he remains in this position,” he claimed.
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explore – he is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
When Max Verstappen was asked about his father’s comments, he refused to distance himself from them.
As 2024 progressed, these early-season tensions at Red Bull de-escalated, at least on the surface.
However, this does not mean the team recovered from the words exchanged at the beginning of the year.
Over the last few weeks, LWOS has been among several outfits to report on talks between Verstappen and Mercedes.
One report on this saga, however, is particularly relevant to Christian Horner’s reported dismissal.
It was German outlet AMuS who wrote that Max Verstappen’s camp wanted Horner to have less influence on Red Bull’s decision-making.
This demand is understood to have been part of discussions for Verstappen to continue with Red Bull team – amidst their declining performance.
Whilst Horner’s departure is unlikely to guarantee that Verstappen will stay, it certainly represents a clear and intentional shift.
This move is unlikely to have happened without the Dutchman being informed beforehand.
Not only does Horner’s exit mark the end of an era at Red Bull, but it demonstrates a recognition of the team’s shortcomings.
Rectifying the situation at Red Bull
Of course, Christian Horner being fired does not necessarily mean that Red Bull’s performance in 2025 will improve.
There aren’t many upgrades scheduled for the RB21, with Red Bull shifting their focus to next year’s regulations.
Horner’s departure is, however, relevant for how the team will handle its other problems. These include the growing risk of losing Verstappen, in addition to the recent ‘brain drain’ from Milton Keynes.
Over the last eighteen months, Red Bull’s driver situation has been extremely unstable.
Verstappen has seen three different teammates in less than a year – representative of the instability at the team.
Laurent Mekies, who will replace Horner, is tasked with bringing some calm to the uneasy waters at Red Bull.
Considering Mekies’ high appraisal for Yuki Tsunoda, no driver changes should be expected for the remainder of 2025.
In this sense, there should be some sense of continuity within the team.
On the Verstappen front, the Frenchman’s good relations with the Dutchman will be essential
Mekies, who joins from VCARB, is tasked with showing Verstappen that Milton Keynes are progressing ahead of 2026.
Considering the strained nature of Horner’s relationship with the Verstappen camp, Mekies has a chance to start fresh.
Beyond this, Red Bull’s new team principal must prevent the continued loss of top personnel from Milton Keynes.
Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley are some of many senior figures to leave in the last year.
Marshall, who is often overlooked in discussions about the F1 engineering market, has been integral to McLaren’s success.
A new era begins
Moving forward, Red Bull will work to reverse this trend – which has seen them losing top talents to rivals.
Since Newey’s exit, Christian Horner has given more influence to Pierre Wache – who is currently the team’s technical director.
In fact, even before Newey left, Horner was responsible for making Wache a bigger voice in Red Bull’s development.
This likely contributed to Newey’s move to Aston Martin, who felt increasingly marginalised at Milton Keynes.
Although the 66-year-old’s exact motivations for leaving Red Bull have not been disclosed the polemics of early 2024 almost certainly played a role.
Regardless, after a second season of virtually zero progression, Wache’s position might be re-assessed under new team principal Laurent Mekies.
Red Bull’s Technical Director has enjoyed very limited success since spear-heading development.
The aftermath of Red Bull’s blockbuster decision remains to be seen – but whatever happens, it marks a new era.
Main photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images (via Red Bull content pool)
