Christian Horner's surprising firing by Red Bull F1 raises many questions

New York Times

12 hours ago

Red Bull was on top of the world at the end of the 2023 season. Untouchable and almost unbeatable.
Max Verstappen had secured 19 wins en route to a third consecutive world championship, clinching the title in Qatar with five races remaining, with the team securing the constructors' championship as early as September in Japan in a car widely regarded as one of the greatest in the sport's history. The 2023 season for Red Bull is, by many measures, one of the most dominant by team and driver in F1 history.
But when the new year rang, the team began to unravel. In less than two years, a championship-caliber team has disintegrated, Horner's surprise sacking on Wednesday being the denouement.
Rob Marshall had left for McLaren, joining as its chief designer in January 2024. Chief technical officer Adrian Newey, widely described as a design genius, left for Aston Martin a few months later, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley became the team principal for Sauber (a team that has outscored Red Bull 35 to 29 points over the last four race weekends). Will Courtney, head of race strategy, left the Milton Keynes-based crew last fall after 20 years with the team and will join McLaren sometime during the 2026 season.
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The drivers' side has experienced changes since that era-defining 2023 season, too. Sergio Pérez was replaced by Liam Lawson, who was then replaced by Yuki Tsunoda two races into this season.
The team's second seat pales in comparison to the performances Verstappen has strung together over the last 18 months, but even the Dutchman's results have been a far cry from his world championship-contending years.
Verstappen has been vocal about his issues with the car, and yet Red Bull hasn't figured out how to remedy it and is staring down a regulation change come 2026.
Horner, the team's leader since it joined the Formula One grid in 2005, has weathered the highs of Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen's championship-winning seasons, as well as the lows of last year's investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior, which was subsequently dismissed. Horner has always denied the allegations.
But 12 races into the season, and a few days after Verstappen had secured pole but ultimately finished fifth in the British Grand Prix with his team-mate last, Horner's 20-year tenure has come to an end. It came as a surprise and raises plenty of questions. But how did we get here? And, crucially, why now?
As shocking as Horner's departure is, the biggest question his exit has raised is what this means for Verstappen, the reigning world champion and one of the greatest drivers in the sport's history.
Verstappen thanked Horner in a social media post a few hours after the 51-year-old's sacking was made public. 'From my first race win to four world championships, we have shared incredible successes. Winning memorable races and breaking countless records,' his post on X said. It was a positive summation of a partnership that had come under scrutiny during Red Bull's tumultuous last 18 months.
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Complicating matters was Verstappen's father's relationship with Horner and Jos Verstappen's public airing of his grievances, often putting his son in an awkward position of being asked about them. In an interview with the Daily Mail during last year's investigation, Jos Verstappen warned that Red Bull would 'explode' were Horner to remain in position. 'He is playing the victim when he is the one causing the problems,' Jos said. Verstappen's response to his father's comments ahead of that March's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was to say his father was 'not a liar', raising further questions about Horner and Verstappen's futures within the team.
Verstappen went on to win a fourth world title at the end of that turbulent year, and the 27-year-old is under contract with the team until the end of the 2028 campaign, but that hasn't stopped further speculation, most recently about a possible move to Mercedes — something the Silver Arrows haven't shut down. Mercedes' current No. 1, George Russell, whose contract expires at the end of the year, said at Silverstone that the likelihood of him not being at Mercedes next year was 'exceptionally low'.
Verstappen had always publicly supported Horner and the team's performance, unwilling to throw anyone under the bus. But even as recently as last weekend in Silverstone, he remained quiet about his future.
Picking a team for next season is more complicated than in previous years due to the 2026 regulation changes, which include updates to fuel, engines and cars. It's not as simple as making a move to the most competitive team this season.
The grid pecking order won't be clear until the teams arrive in Australia for the first race of the season, when the cars will be in a true competitive environment. When asked about whether it would be risky to switch teams ahead of a fresh regulation set, Verstappen said, 'That's why I'm contracted to Red Bull.'
Does Horner's exit make Verstappen more likely to stay? That will be the defining question facing the team next. After Horner's exit, the speculation is unlikely to go away — especially if Red Bull's on-track performance does not improve dramatically.
Red Bull's problems began in 2024, a season in which they were expected to dominate, as Verstappen had won all but three races the previous year and Red Bull had clinched both championships. But, instead, the 2023 form and cohesion faded away.
In 2024 preseason testing, Horner came under investigation after allegations of controlling and inappropriate behaviour were made against him by a female employee. Horner denied the allegations.
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Red Bull GmbH, the F1 team's parent company, confirmed in early February that an independent investigation into the allegations against Horner had been launched and 'an external specialist barrister' would handle the matter. Horner was questioned by a King's Counsel (KC) on Feb. 9, and the season launch took place several days later. On Feb. 28, Red Bull's parent company announced the investigation was completed and the grievance was dismissed. Last August, Red Bull confirmed the employee's appeal was 'not upheld.'
As the investigations continued in the background, Horner remained in charge. Verstappen maintained he was focused on what was happening on the track, and the team was performing well. Verstappen and Pérez had secured consecutive 1-2 finishes to start the season, and did so again in the fourth race of the season in Japan.
But in May, Pérez's performance began to slip, and he never recovered, ultimately losing his seat. Without both cars performing, Red Bull was vulnerable. McLaren came storming back, Ferrari joined the constructors' fight, with the papaya cars coming out on top by season's end.
Throughout that season, from a performance perspective at least, Horner's position never seemed under threat. But the number of high-profile departures raised questions.
Horner had the Yoovidhya family's support over the last 18 months, and they own 51 percent of the parent company's shares. Mark Mateschitz, the son of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich, owns the other 49 percent.
But the on-track downturn complicated matters, and the car became one where neither driver could consistently extract competitive performance. This year, Verstappen produced two sensational victories in Japan and Emilia-Romagna, but the gulf between Red Bull and the leaders, McLaren, is evident — currently, it stands at 288 points.
Dietrich Mateschitz bought the Jaguar Racing team in 2004 and rebranded it Red Bull Racing, the team joining the grid a year later with Horner as team principal. Within five years, Red Bull went from an unproven project to a dominant force on the grid, securing the drivers' titles from 2010 to 2013.
It was the start of a dominant run. But after a major regulation change in 2014, Mercedes took control of the sport, and Red Bull — then using underperforming Renault engines — struggled to compete.
The 2016 campaign (Verstappen's debut season) proved to be stronger. The return to the championships didn't happen until the 2021 season, when Verstappen battled Lewis Hamilton and secured his first title after a controversial finish to the Abu Dhabi GP. Red Bull, Verstappen and Pérez, who joined in 2021, continued their climb back to glory, as it won the constructors' titles in 2022 and 2023 and Verstappen won three consecutive championships.
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But Verstappen's 2024 title didn't come easily as the rest of the grid began catching up, and issues with the car became more pronounced as the year wore on, though not as visible as this season, likely because of Verstappen's talent.
Now, as another major regulation shift looms, the cracks in Red Bull's armor are hard to ignore. Balance problems persist and questions about Verstappen's future loom large.
But if Red Bull once again climbs back to the top, it won't be Horner at the helm this time.