Christian Horner sacked by Red Bull in F1 bombshell after glory-filled 20-year stint

Christian Horner has been sacked as Red Bull Racing team principal and CEO after 20 years with the Formula 1 team.

The team confirmed the news in a statement, adding that Laurent Mekies has been promoted from junior team Racing Bulls to replace him as CEO.

Horner’s likely exit comes amid strong rumours he could lose VerstappenCredit: GettyA statement from Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff added: “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.”

The 51-year-old executive joined the team upon its introduction to F1 in 2005 and led it through to glory filled eras under Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

read more f1 newsThe second of those under Verstappen looked frankly unstoppable with four drivers’ title wins from 2021 to 2024, but a drop in performance midway through the last campaign has yet to cease.

It is understood Horner will bid farewell to employees at Red Bull’s base in Milton Keynes on Wednesday.

Verstappen narrowly won the 2021 title from rival Lewis Hamilton, and then the Red Bull team mastered sweeping aerodynamic changes for the following season.

Completely dominant back-to-back drivers’ and constructors’ titles followed in 2022 and 2023 and it looked like there was no stopping Red Bull.

However, the start of the 2024 campaign was dogged by allegations of inappropriate misconduct from Horner towards a female employee, which he denied and was cleared of by two internal investigations.

Yet things continued to deteriorate when Verstappen’s father, former F1 driver Jos, asked for Horner’s dismissal.

Jos Verstappen staged a public battle with Horner throughout the seasonCredit: Getty

Newey is arguably the most valuable asset in F1 history with his departure at the start of 2024 a massive blowCredit: Getty“There is tension here while he remains in position,” he told the Daily Mail. “The team is in danger of being torn apart.

“It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

A month later, the greatest car designer in F1 history, Adrian Newey, announced his departure from Red Bull to rivals Aston Martin with the BBC maintaining the Horner allegations played their part in his decision.

Coincidentally or not, the performance of the RB20 declined from that point onwards, with Verstappen’s dominant pace at the season opener evaporating into regular race wins from Ferrari and McLaren.

Verstappen then had to fight off a title challenge from Lando Norris to end the season, while Red Bull dropped to third in the constructors’ standings, missing out on crucial millions for car development.

The trend has continued into 2026 with mastery from Verstappen covering up serious struggles for the Austrian-British squad.

Horner is one of the most successful executives in F1 history with two eras of dominance at Red BullRed Bull’s Christian Horner has awkward exchange in first interview since his cleared allegations

The 27-year-old has outperformed his car for two race wins but with a fifth place finish at the British Grand Prix last time out it has become clear that the title fight is between Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.

The lack of competitiveness has also coincided with strong rumours that Verstappen will leave in 2026 for rivals Mercedes after performance clauses in his contract weren’t matched ahead of its 2028 expiration.

Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has openly admitted to talks, while Verstappen has refused to rule out a departure, simply commenting it would be ‘cool’ to spend his career with the same brand.

Horner was asked to rule out a departure for Verstappen at Silverstone, but instead told talkSPORT.com and the associated media: “The contracts between the drivers and the teams will always remain confidential.

“With any driver’s contract, there is an element of a performance mechanism. Of course, that exists within Max’s contract. His intention is that he will be there and driving for us in 2026.

“It’s inevitable that he’s of huge interest to any other team in the pit lane. I think actually probably George [Russell] triggered all this speculation, probably trying to leverage his own situation and force a clarity.

Verstappen’s fifth place at Silverstone has seen his title challenge collapse“Which you can understand because he’s driven a very good season as well this year. But inevitably there will always be speculation about it.

“I think the most important thing is the clarity that exists between Max and the team and that’s very clear.”

talkSPORT has since learned that Verstappen wants to depart for Mercedes amid strong insider rumblings that Wolff’s squad has mastered the new 2026 engine regulations.

Read More on talkSPORTOn top of Verstappen struggling to compete for wins, Red Bull’s second car has even been unable to take points.

The Milton Keynes-based squad parted ways with Sergio Perez after the 2024 campaign, but replacement Liam Lawson was only given two races before being demoted to Racing Bulls.