A billionaire’s death, power struggle, and the Verstappen camp: the demise of Christian Horner

All was going swimmingly for Red Bull Racing and Christian Horner, trophies and champagne flowing, until the death of Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022. Here are the dominoes that led to his sacking.

It did not end with a seismic row in the Red Bull motorhome or a public drama that has typified so many chapters of the crisis that has engulfed the team over the past 17 months.

Instead, Christian Horner learnt his fate at a matter-of-fact meeting on Tuesday that was conducted in private and the outcome of which came as a surprise to the sporting world.

Senior staff were then informed and on Wednesday the rest of Red Bull’s employees were left contemplating a future without their team principal and chief executive of 20 years.

Horner was tearful in an address to staff at the team’s Milton Keynes factory, which was his final act. “My heart is still in this team and it always will be,” he said.

Christian Horner’s time in charge of Red Bull Racing has come to an end. Picture: Andres Staph/Pool photo

It was a shock, Horner admitted. The 51-year-old was Red Bull through and through – the youngest team principal at the time of his arrival in 2005 and a disrupter who led them to six constructors’ titles and eight drivers’ championships over two decades.

He had survived the scandal surrounding allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee, being cleared of wrongdoing by two separate investigations.

Yet for months a dramatic breaking point has appeared inevitable. In Formula One, the stopwatch never lies. Red Bull have Max Verstappen, a four-times world champion, in a car that is no longer competitive enough to challenge for victories regularly.

That equation ultimately could not continue. Every race weekend signalled a crisis and Horner’s detractors – including those from Verstappen’s camp – warned that while he remained, things were heading only one way.

Tensions were simmering between Max Verstappen’s camp and Christian Horner. (Christian Bruna/Pool via AP File)

It may not have been purely a decision between keeping Verstappen or Horner but it appears that the prospect of both of them, and their respective factions, working together in the team for the next 18 months was simply improbable. The friction too great, the battle lines too deeply etched in the very core of Red Bull’s recent history.

All was going swimmingly, trophies and champagne flowing, until the death of Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022. Mateschitz, the Austrian billionaire who co-founded Red Bull, was happy for Horner to have the influence and power when it came to running the race team.

Sources within all Red Bull factions believe that his death was a turning point of sorts. Horner has never enjoyed the same relationship with other senior figures at the team’s parent company in Austria, including Mark Mateschitz, son of Dietrich who owns 49 per cent of the company, and Oliver Mintzlaff, the company’s managing director.

A young Christian Horner alongside former Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz Picture: Ker Robertson/Getty Images

There was a feeling that Horner was always looking to increase his power base. Indeed, one of his detractors made a habit of pointing out that the team was called “Red Bull Racing” and not “Horner Racing”.

A meeting only a few weeks ago between Horner and his bosses in Austria – details of which appeared in the German and Austrian media – was telling. It was suggested to Horner that he become more of a team principal and less of a chief executive; focusing more on the car, rather than the commercial side of the job.

Even if Horner did not realise it at the time, it was the first serious sign of his impending departure. By contrast, Horner has always been close with Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai businessman who owns the other 51 per cent of Red Bull. Without Yoovidhya’s support, it is thought that Horner may well have lost his job 17 months ago when it emerged that a female employee had made allegations to the Red Bull head office that Horner had behaved inappropriately towards her. Two investigations, one conducted internally and then an appeal, cleared him.

Until that point, the warring factions at Red Bull had remained behind closed doors. Now everything was out in the open. The relationship between Horner and the Verstappens essentially collapsed and what lingered was an uneasy truce which in recent weeks has occasionally bubbled over.

Jos Verstappen, the former F1 driver and father of Max, stated publicly in the aftermath of the allegations that the team risked being torn apart if Horner remained. Privately, he has continued to make clear that his feelings had not changed. Verstappen’s camp have often questioned Horner’s influence and the amount of credit he took for the work of others.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s senior adviser, has been wedded to the Verstappens and is as close to them as he is to the organisation itself. Last year it even emerged that the Dutchman could leave if Marko also departed, a clause that was quickly closed. The glue keeping Red Bull together was the victories. Verstappen ended a turbulent 2024 for the team as world champion for the fourth successive season after nine wins from the 24 races.

Yet that success disintegrated this season as speculation, internally and externally, about Horner’s future became louder. In May whispers began to emerge that Horner might be heading for the exit door. This was dismissed at the time and it was evident Horner would never quit. Eight weeks later he is gone.

For a sense of just how coldly the departure was handled by Red Bull management, his exit was confirmed by Red Bull GmbH, his replacement, Laurent Mekies, was revealed and a further two hours passed from the news breaking before a public post from the team finally emerged, thanking him for two decades of service.

Jos Verstappen (left) made his feelings about Christian Horner clear. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

After another disastrous Silverstone weekend – a gamble made on Verstappen running a lower downforce rear wing backfired in the rain at Sunday’s British race – meant by early this week, even Yoovidhya could, reluctantly, be persuaded that Horner’s time was up.

Ironically Horner had very little influence over the car itself – he never claimed to be an engineering-minded team principal like his successor Mekies, who has been promoted from Racing Bulls – other than hiring those he believed could create the best machine.

Other teams suspected Red Bull had effectively engineered themselves into a corner by developing a car to complement Verstappen’s strengths. Here, the departures of key figures like Rob Marshall (now at McLaren) and Adrian Newey (Aston Martin) were most keenly felt – the almost priceless ability to identify a problem and find its solution. Pierre Wache, Red Bull’s technical director, could soon be the next to see the exit door.

McLaren found a new direction, and a huge performance swing occurred, with even Verstappen’s mercurial talent, estimated to be worth a couple of tenths of a second, helpless to wrest back momentum in the title race.

The swing in power from Red Bull to McLaren has led to in-team tensions. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

This season was, although Horner had not said it quite so plainly, effectively a write-off. For 2026, Red Bull have already committed to an engine project, which means, as Horner had alluded to last week, it is likely they will have a deficit to their more established rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari.

They had invested millions into that project, to establish themselves as a manufacturer, with the belief that Horner was the best person to navigate them through that journey. Now it will go ahead without him. In his closing speech he said: “I’ll just be very sad that I won’t be here to see the engine perform.”

Two other senior staff have already succumbed to the Horner-related cull. Oliver Hughes, the group chief marketing and commercial officer, and group director of communications Paul Smith, have both also been released. Requests by the media have been directed to the Austrians rather than the race team itself, which Smith would usually have marshalled.

Horner’s departure may mean that Verstappen’s future looks more secure, but only temporarily. The Dutchman is contracted until 2028 but could yet leave at the end of this season. Failure to remain in the top three of the drivers’ championship by the summer break in two races’ time would trigger an exit clause, and a Red Bull team in turmoil would have an extraordinarily difficult job to convince him to stay.

Originally published as A billionaire’s death, power struggle, and the Verstappen camp: the demise of Christian Horner