Christian Horner ended a successful stage at Red Bull after 20 years as team principal, during which he achieved eight driver championships and six constructor championships.
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Although the first version that emerged regarding his dismissal was that it was due to poor results in the current season, in which the Red Bulls are far from competing for the title, that would not be the main reason.
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Fractures and a case of harassment were the triggers
Media outlets like Motorsport have revealed that Christian Horner would have had differences with Helmut Marko over internal team decisions, such as the choice of drivers.
In addition, the British former driver does not have a good relationship with Josh Verstappen, father of the star driver, who has threatened to leave if there are no improvements in his car.
To make matters worse, Christian Horner recently faced a scandal involving an alleged sexual harassment lawsuit. Although he was acquitted, the case caused fractures within the racing team, significantly affecting his image and leadership. This is why the poor results in the first part of the 2025 season would have been just the icing on the cake.
Who will replace it?
After Horner‘s departure, a new era will begin in Milton Keynes with Laurent Mekies as the new team principal. The French engineer held the same role at Racing Bulls, the sister team.
His first big challenge will be to provide a competitive car to Max Verstappen so that he can have one last hope of fighting for the drivers’ title with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The next race will be on July 27th with the Belgian Grand Prix, where Red Bull will start a new era without Horner, who was with the team for 20 years, being the longest-serving in Formula 1.