Christian Horner has lifted the lid on his departure from Red Bull, admitting that he still does not know the precise reason the team decided to end his 20-year reign – although he has a theory about the logic that may have sealed his fate.
The former team principal, who transformed Red Bull into one of Formula 1’s dominant forces, was abruptly dismissed in July 2025, bringing an extraordinary chapter to an end just months after the team had continued to fight at the front of the grid.
Under Horner’s leadership, Red Bull collected eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles between 2005 and 2025. Yet the man who had become one of the most influential figures in the paddock found himself out of the organisation with little public explanation from his former employers.
Speaking to The Guardian in an interview published on Monday, Horner described his exit as “brutal and sad” and suggested that the concentration of authority in his hands may have become a problem as Red Bull’s leadership evolved following the death of co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
“I think it was a feeling there was too much control in my hands. But I wasn’t really given a reason," he said.
Performance, politics and the unanswered questions
Horner’s dismissal came against the backdrop of the controversy that had engulfed him in early 2024, when a female employee accused him of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour.
Horner repeatedly denied the allegations, while Red Bull’s internal investigation cleared him, and a subsequent appeal by the complainant was also dismissed.
Asked whether the allegations had ultimately contributed to his removal, Horner suggested that the decision had been driven by other considerations.
“I’d come through that, dismissed them. So this was more focused on performance and the future,” he said.
Christian Horner with Red Bull GmbH Managing Director Oliver Mintzlaff.
Horner also rejected the suggestion that Max Verstappen and his father, Jos, had directly orchestrated his downfall.
“No, it was a Red Bull decision. After Dietrich died, things changed in the leadership,” he added. Horner reportedly received a multi-million-pound settlement following his departure, widely reported to be worth around £75 million ($100 million).
But the financial terms did little to soften the personal sting of being dismissed by the organisation he had helped turn into a Formula 1 powerhouse.
Whispers, hospitality, and old rivalries
Horner’s account also offers a glimpse of the relationships that became strained in the final days of his tenure.
Among the most revealing details concerned Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s long-serving motorsport adviser, whose position within the organisation frequently brought him into conflict with Horner.
Despite their differences, the Austrian had remained close enough to the family to stay at Horner’s home I July 2025, just days before the Briton’s dismissal.
That visit has clearly stayed with Horner, who was particularly stung by the absence of any warning that his position was in jeopardy.
“Helmut could be blunt, and I was disappointed he’d stayed as a guest of our family two days before [Horner’s sacking], with no indication this was coming,” he said.
The remark adds another layer of intrigue to Horner’s account. The former team boss was considerably less forthcoming when asked about Verstappen’s father, Jos, whose influence around the team had also attracted scrutiny.
“There’s nothing to say,” Horner replied.
Read also: Verstappen admits Red Bull now ‘less stressful’ without Horner
His comments come amid renewed debate over the role Marko played in Verstappen’s rise to Red Bull’s senior team.
Horner has claimed that Marko initially opposed promoting the Dutchman to Red Bull from Toro Rosso, a version of events the Austrian has recently disputed, denying that he was against Verstappen’s elevation.
The disagreement offers a reminder that even the defining decisions of Red Bull’s championship-winning era remain contested by those who helped shape them.
Two decades after taking charge of Red Bull, the man who helped build its winning machine has now offered his own interpretation of why he was forced out.
What he still cannot provide is the one thing that might settle the matter: a definitive explanation from the people who made the call.
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