The news that Christian Horner was suddenly sacked by Red Bull yesterday (Wednesday 9 July 2025) was seismic all around the world of F1. He survived last year’s ‘sexting scandal’ and a power struggle with Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko.
However, after several high-profile staff departures and flagging performance on track, Christian Horner will no longer be on the Red Bull pit wall in 2025. It is believed the move to sack Christian Horner came after long-time supporter – 51% team owner Chalerm Yoovidhya – finally caved to the ‘Austrian side’ of the business.
CHRISTIAN HORNER SACKED
Also fascinating is news that on the very same day, Mercedes’ executive board approved a bid to try lure Max Verstappen to the German marque for 2026. After the chequered flag at Silverstone, and another difficult race for Verstappen, Christian Horner was seen arguing again with Max’s father Jos.
“You could see Jos was anything but happy with the situation,” said former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. The German F1 pundit thinks Horner’s 20-year-old reign at Red Bull has simply run its course. “In the end, they’re no longer able to attract or retain good people. Adrian Newey left, and others simply didn’t want to come because of the company culture,” Schumacher said.
SHOCKED BY THE NEWS
Bernie Ecclestone, a long-time Christian Horner confidante, says the 51-year-old was shocked by Wednesday’s news. Likewise, Dutch racing personality, Tom Coronel, believes something must have happened internally to cause a ‘big panic.’ Former F1 driver Mika Salo agrees. “I believe there is something big behind the scenes that the public is not being told about. There is no other explanation for this, unless you know,” said Salo.
Likewise, two allies of Christian Horner – communications boss Paul Smith and head of marketing Oliver Hughes – are following him out. And rumours are already in overdrive that the Briton could be heading to Ferrari, Cadillac or Alpine. Meanwhile, quadruple world champion Max Verstappen has stayed quiet about the sacking.
MAX WILL FULFIL HIS CONTRACT
Meanwhile, Max’s manager Raymond Vermeulen was very careful with his words. “It’s up to Red Bull to share the background on the decision to sack Christian Horner. Clearly, in Red Bull’s view, this was the best way forward. And it’s up to the parent company to hire people and make strategic choices. However, nothing changes for us. We continue to look at the sporting side and have no other plans but to fulfill our contract until 2028,” confirmed Vermeulen.
Red Bull Racing, including the new Red Bull-Ford engine project, will now be headed by Laurent Mekies, with Alan Permane stepping up at the junior Racing Bulls – with GMM
WHERE DO YOU THINK HORNER WILL TURN UP NEXT?
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