New Christian Horner details emerge from Red Bull F1 sacking
Christian Horner sheds new light on his Red Bull F1 sacking.
Christian Horner has revealed new details about how he learned of his sacking from the Red Bull Formula 1 team.
The 52-year-old Briton was relieved of his duties as Red Bull CEO and team principal after 20 years in the role following the 2025 British Grand Prix.
Horner’s dismissal followed months of declining form for Red Bull and an internal power struggle, while it also came 17 months after he faced allegations of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female colleague.
In an interview with The Athletic, Horner has shared how he found out he had been fired, admitting the news came as a shock to him.
One day after the British Grand Prix, Horner was called to a meeting in London that he claims was “to discuss marketing structure”.
According to Horner’s account, he arrived to see Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, Helmut Marko, and Red Bull’s head of HR waiting for him with a press release confirming the termination of his contract laid out on the table.
“I didn’t have the inkling it was going to be dealt with so abruptly,” Horner said, insisting that he was provided no reasoning for his release beyond Red Bull wanting to “go in a different direction”.
“It was only when I really pushed to say, ‘Well then there has to be a reason’ that I was given ‘It’s more Christian Horner Racing than Red Bull Racing’,” he added.
Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies, who was promoted from Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls.
Speculation surrounding a possible return to F1 has ramped up in recent months, with Horner linked with the likes of Ferrari, Alpine, Aston Martin and even the Chinese carmaker BYD which has ambitions to enter the world championship.
But asked why he would want to return to the F1 paddock, Horner replied: “I’m not sure I do, in all honesty. For me, it would have to be a really exciting project. It wouldn’t just be for anything.”
In a recent interview with The Times, Horner admitted that a “dream” role at Ferrari is the only job that could tempt him back without an ownership stake.
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