Red Bull removes Christian Horner after 20 years: What's next for Verstappen?

Christian Horner Out of Red Bull: The End of an Era

After two decades leading the team, Christian Horner has been removed as team principal of Red Bull, as confirmed by the team on Wednesday. This announcement marks the end of a highly successful period for the Formula 1 team. Horner took office in 2005 and was fundamental to Red Bull’s successes, both in the early 2010s and in the current one. Under his leadership, the team achieved remarkable dominance in Formula 1. The internal atmosphere at Red Bull had become increasingly tense, a situation exacerbated by the challenges on the track this year and the uncertainty about the future of Max Verstappen, the team’s star driver. Several meetings took place in the last few weeks, including the Austrian Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix. In at least one of them, Verstappen and Oliver Mintzlaff, a key figure in the company’s corporate structure, participated, who had been pushing for a change in the racing team’s leadership.

Horner had denied rumors about his possible departure for Ferrari. However, his position always seemed secure as long as he had the support of Chalerm Yoovidhya, the majority shareholder of Red Bull. The news on Wednesday comes a year after Horner kept his position following an internal investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. This deepened the political tensions that followed the death of Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. Horner had a tense relationship with Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, and with Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor.

In the last year, the departure of Adrian Newey, legendary technical director, who joined Aston Martin, also occurred. Laurent Mekies, former team principal of Racing Bulls, has been promoted to CEO of Red Bull Racing. Under Horner’s leadership, Red Bull conquered eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships. The team achieved its 124 Grand Prix victories with Horner at the helm. The frustrations within the team have become evident this season, with Verstappen repeatedly expressing his issues with the car. Verstappen’s future in the team has also been questioned, with Mercedes monitoring the exit clauses in his contract.