Did Verstappen camp ‘ultimatum’ lead to Christian Horner’s downfall?

Rumours within F1 have suggested that Red Bull was given “some kind of ultimatum” from Max Verstappen’s camp which led to Christian Horner’s sacking.

Horner was relieved from his duties as Red Bull team principal on Wednesday in news which sent shockwaves through the F1 world, having been informed of the decision on Tuesday.

The exact reasons for Horner’s dismissal have been speculated since the announcement, with no details shared by Red Bull.

But the sacking comes amid months of declining form for Red Bull, while it is over a year since Horner was accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female colleague, though he was cleared of wrongdoing.

According to BBC Sport, “the big rumour doing the rounds within F1 on Wednesday was that Red Bull had been given some kind of ultimatum from the Verstappen camp - either Horner went or Max would.”

Verstappen's father, Jos, did not see eye-to-eye with Horner and warned last year that the scandal surrounding him was "driving people apart" at the team. 

Red Bull would go on to lose influential designer Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley in the following months. 

Red Bull 'ran out of reasons' to keep Horner 

BBC Sport’s F1 Correspondent Andrew Benson wrote: “At the moment, it is impossible to know whether that's true. Red Bull have not given a reason publicly. They may never do.

“But what can be said is that Verstappen has repeatedly said that he wants to work in a calm, relaxed environment. And Red Bull has been anything but that for at least the past 18 months, and probably longer.

“In the end, it probably comes down to this. Results were on the slide. Senior staff, integral to Red Bull's success, had left. A series of questionable decisions had been made. A major reputational threat was still hovering around. And there were questions over their star asset.

“In that situation, the future of any CEO of any company would be looking rocky. In the end, it looks like Red Bull just ran out of reasons to keep Horner.”

Verstappen’s future has been the topic of huge debate amid reports linking him with a move to either Mercedes or Aston Martin.

The links to Mercedes have intensified in recent weeks and the four-time world champion is said to be open to a shock switch to the Silver Arrows with his title defence already in tatters with Red Bull enduring a difficult campaign.

Verstappen has been cagey on his future but Horner stressed he was confident that the Dutchman, who is under contract until the end of 2028, would stay put for 2026 and beyond, describing the rumours as “noise”.

But Horner has since been abruptly fired by Red Bull just days after watching Verstappen finish fifth in a rain-hit British Grand Prix.

Horner is believed to have lost support from Red Bull’s main shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya, who previously backed F1’s longest-serving team principal to continue in his role.