Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has offered his candid, unfiltered view of how his good friend Christian Horner’s dominance at Red Bull may have ultimately contributed to his downfall.
Horner was dismissed earlier this week after two decades in charge, making him the longest-serving team principal in Formula 1 history.
His exit follows an 18-month period of turbulence at the Milton Keynes-based outfit, including a sexting scandal and internal unrest that escalated into a full-blown power struggle within the Red Bull team.
Ecclestone, never one to shy away from blunt commentary, attributed Horner’s downfall to a combination of unchecked power, personal missteps, and the team’s recent struggles on the track.
“He was just an idiot”
The seeds of Horner’s exit were sown 18 months ago when a cache of WhatsApp messages, allegedly between Horner and a female employee of Red Bull, surfaced, sparking a global media storm.
The scandal, which involved claims of inappropriate behavior, saw Horner cleared twice through internal investigations. However, the public fallout was undeniable, with the leaked messages causing significant embarrassment for both Horner and Red Bull.
Ecclestone was unsparing in his critique of Horner’s handling of the situation.
“This business that he got involved with 18 months ago, he was just an idiot,” he told the Telegraph on Thursday. “He was a 50-year-old who thought he was 20, thought he was one of the boys.”
His remarks reflect a belief that Horner’s behavior was reckless, particularly for someone in such a high-profile leadership role.
Ecclestone also took aim at the Red Bull female employee, questioning why she didn’t take a more direct approach to address the alleged advances.
“I often wonder, when these situations happen, why if the girl is so upset with the advances of someone, they don’t just say, ‘Oi you, stop it,’” he said.
The comment underscores Ecclestone’s old-school perspective, though it risks oversimplifying a complex and sensitive issue.
A Power Struggle in Milton Keynes
Beyond the sexting scandal, Ecclestone pointed to deeper structural issues within Red Bull that contributed to Horner’s ousting. He suggested that executives at Red Bull’s Austrian headquarters grew increasingly uneasy with the concentration of power in Horner’s hands at the team’s Milton Keynes base.
“It would probably have been better if they had said, ‘Come in, Christian, sit down,’” Ecclestone remarked, implying that a more diplomatic approach to addressing concerns might have avoided the current crisis.
©RedBull
Instead, tensions simmered as some within the organization felt Horner’s dominance had gone unchecked for too long.
“But the bottom line is that there are people there who thought he was getting away with things, that he was acting as if it was not the Red Bull Ring, but the Christian Horner Ring,” Ecclestone said.
“He got away with so many things. And all the time you’re delivering, people close their eyes. But when you stop delivering, people start looking. One or two begin thinking, ‘Well, I could do a better job.’”
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Red Bull’s dominance in recent years, with multiple championships under Horner’s leadership, had shielded him from criticism. However, as the team’s performance waned, internal critics began questioning his leadership style.
A team in transition after Mateschitz
Ecclestone also touched on the internal instability that followed the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. With power shifting at the top, Horner found himself under greater scrutiny.
“Genuinely, it was a little bit of a muddle,” Ecclestone said. “Christian was the chief executive. If I’m the chief executive of a company, I want to be in charge. I want to do all the things that I think are right, and if I’m wrong, they can fire me…
Red Bull GmbH CEO Oliver Mintzlaff with Christian Horner.
“So, the minute Christian can’t be in that position to do what he thinks should be done, then for him it’s not easy.
"You can’t half-manage something. You need to have someone, I always say, to turn the lights on and offYou only really need one person.”
A one-man show that couldn’t last
According to Ecclestone, Horner’s all-encompassing role – overseeing everything from engineering to sponsorship – left him vulnerable when results began to slip.
“I know it was suggested to him he should be a team manager and leave the commercial side to somebody else,” Ecclestone explained.
“His idea was, ‘I am the chief executive.’ [But] you get very few executives who can do everything, from engineering to public relations.
“He had been running the company the way he thought it should be run. For a long time, people were prepared to say, ‘OK, fair enough, he’s getting the job done.’ But as soon as you go off a little bit, people look and say, ‘Hang on.’”
Ecclestone concluded with a reminder of Horner’s legacy — and the pressure that comes with success.
“Christian won a lot of championships. He was used to winning. So, it’s not easy when you’re not winning – and when you know that it’s not entirely your fault.”
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