Bernie Ecclestone, former head of Formula 1, has expressed his opinion on Christian Horner’s departure from Red Bull, suggesting that the former team principal “got away with it” during his time in the role.
Horner was dismissed on Wednesday after two decades leading Red Bull Racing, a period of great success in the history of the sport, and was replaced by Laurent Mekies.
Horner’s departure occurred after years of internal disputes and tensions within the team.
It would have been better if they had said: ‘Come, Christian, sit down’.
Bernie Ecclestone
Ecclestone, a long-time friend of Horner, explained that Horner’s time came to an end when the results began to decrease drastically in recent months.
Ecclestone added that Horner “got away with a lot of things. As long as you deliver results, people turn a blind eye. But when you stop delivering, people start to look. One or two start to think: ‘Well, I could do a better job'”. Bernie Ecclestone (R) ha opinado sobre el despido de Christian Horner.Referring to the movements within Red Bull in recent weeks, Ecclestone commented that Horner was suggested to become team director and leave the commercial part to another person.
Ecclestone also mentioned that Horner had the idea of being the CEO and that “very few executives can do everything, from engineering to public relations”.
Horner’s continued presence at Red Bull had been a topic of conversation for a while.
Last year, he was cleared of allegations of sexual misconduct after a complaint from a former Red Bull employee. Horner strongly denied the allegations.
Ecclestone added that “this matter in which he got involved 18 months ago, was an idiot. He was 50 years old and thought he was 20, he thought he was one of the guys”.
Ecclestone suggested that he felt little sympathy for the plaintiff, saying: “I often wonder, when these situations occur, why if the girl is so upset with someone’s advances, she doesn’t simply say: ‘Hey, you, stop'”.
