The Formula 1 world exploded Wednesday morning. Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal. The man who transformed Red Bull Racing into an F1 powerhouse. Gone. Just like that.
Champagne corks stopped popping at Milton Keynes. The architect of eight world championships received his marching orders. Twenty years of dominance reduced to a single phone call. The Spice Girls’ husband turned F1 celebrity found himself unemployed overnight.
The Verstappen Clause That Sealed Christian Horner’s Fate
Verstappen has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave the team if he is lower than third in the drivers’ championship after the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3. This contractual bombshell triggered Red Bull’s desperate gamble. The team chose to sacrifice their longest-serving leader. They rolled the dice on keeping their four-time world champion.
After 20 years with the Team, Christian Horner departs Oracle Red Bull Racing as Team Principal and CEO.
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 9, 2025
We thank him for his tireless and exceptional work. He has been instrumental in building this Team into one of the most successful in F1, with eight Drivers' Championships… pic.twitter.com/9SyqjSBvEG
The timing tells the complete story. Verstappen is currently 18 points ahead of fourth-placed George Russell. Red Bull’s championship dominance crumbled this season. McLaren snatched the constructors’ lead. Ferrari mounted their challenge. Mercedes lurked dangerously close. Between power struggles, high-profile exits, personal scandal and a fallout with star driver Max Verstappen’s father Jos, Horner has been dodging bullets left, right and centre for the best part of three years now.
Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies is to take over as CEO of Red Bull Racing with immediate effect replacing Christian Horner. The French engineer inherits a fractured empire. Horner has faced a turbulent last 18 months on and off the track. The workplace misconduct allegations. The internal power struggles. The key personnel exodus. Everything converged into this moment. Red Bull’s board decided Horner’s controversial baggage outweighed his racing pedigree. The man who delivered unprecedented success became the team’s biggest liability.
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