NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – Christian Horner was released from his duties as team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, effective Wednesday, after 20 years of service. Laurent Mekies, previously the team principal at Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, has been named as Horner’s immediate successor.
Horner, 51, has led Red Bull Racing since its F1 debut in 2005. Under his stewardship, the team recorded 124 victories, 107 pole positions, 287 podium finishes, eight drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles. Despite these achievements, Horner’s final years were marred by controversy and internal turmoil.
Red Bull’s team history
Here’s the tea: sources within Red Bull have told ESPN that the atmosphere within the team has grown increasingly tense, a situation exacerbated by struggles on the track this year and increasing uncertainty about star driver Max Verstappen’s future.
Sources have also told ESPN that a series of meetings took place over the past two weekends with at least one of them involving Verstappen and Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s chief executive for corporate projects and investments, who has long pushed for a change to the leadership of Red Bull’s racing outfit.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that last month, Horner denied reports he had been sounded out by Ferrari chairman John Elkann about potentially replacing the under-fire Fred Vasseur.
What they’re saying:
“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years.”
“With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history,” said Mintzlaff.
Wednesday’s announcement comes over a year after Horner faced accusations of controlling and inappropriate behaviour by a member of Red Bull’s F1 team. Red Bull’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, said: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.”
Future of Red Bull Racing
The week before his dismissal, Horner was peppered with questions regarding the future of Verstappen’s future with Red Bull after he declined to commit to staying with the team in 2026.
The four-time world champion has an inked contract through 2028; however, there have been indications that a performance-related clause could allow him to exit earlier, and now with the departure of Horner, anything could happen. The exact details are not public.
Verstappen’s name has been floated in ‘conversations’ of joining the Mercedes team. Current Mercedes driver George Russel may have inadvertently raised such speculations after speaking with SkySports ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
“As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you’re going to be back on top, you need to make sure you’ve got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that’s what Mercedes are chasing,” said Russel. “So, it’s only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing.”
Russell has yet to get a contract extension for 2026 and seemed to suggest that Verstappen and Mercedes were in talks.
The Source: Information in this article comes from ESPN.
