Christian Horner slammed as “tasteless” over Helmut Marko comments
Ex-F1 team boss Christian Horner has been accused of sullying his Red Bull legacy
Formula 1 race winner Ralf Schumacher has branded former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner “tasteless” for comments he recently made about Helmut Marko.
Horner was team principal at Red Bull Racing for 20 years between 2005 and 2025, helping the team to eight drivers’ world titles in that time.
But he has been looking for a way back into the F1 paddock since Red Bull fired him midway through the 2025 season, with various links to rival teams so far leading nowhere.
With the launch of a new book, Horner has been back in the press spotlight as he makes a series of explosive statements about his time at Red Bull.
“Just a shame and sad”
Recently, Horner spoke of his soured relationship with former Red Bull chief Marko in a recent interview with Bild.
“It really got to me that he was so actively involved in getting me sacked, while my ex-partner and the mother of my daughter had passed away shortly before,” he said.
“He didn’t even offer his condolences.”
Horner also blamed Marko for the struggles various Red Bull juniors had when promoted to the senior team very early in their F1 careers.
But these comments have drawn criticism from Ralf Schumacher, who feels he should have a different approach given all Horner and Marko achieved together.
“Unfortunately, it’s nothing new with Christian Horner that one or the other time was a bit tasteless,” he said to Sky Germany.
“I think that’s a shame. He is ruining all his own work, because he was very successful together with the team.
“He played a major role in influencing the engine with which Red Bull won races here.
“He got the people and then did something like that. That’s just a shame and sad.”
Marko clapped back at Horner's remarks, calling them "a collection of untruths".
Horner revealed recently that Red Bull reached out to him to acknowledge his role in its Ford power unit operation, following wins in Malaysia and Singapore.
“I was very grateful to both the shareholders who reached out, and [Red Bull CEO] Oliver Mintzlaff who reached out to thank me as well,” Horner said.
“It was quite a different call than I had from him 15 months earlier.”
