Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal at the Austrian team.
While an official statement has not yet been released, sources within the team have confirmed that Horner addressed the team this morning to advise them of his immediate departure.
The tabloid media in Germany and the UK claims that his sacking relates to the text messaging saga of 2024.
While Horner was cleared by an internal team investigation the case is due to be judged in the courts in January, and in the meantime “reporting restrictions” are ordered in the UK.
Horner has been at the helm of the Austrian team since it entered F1 in 2005 after it bought Jaguar Racing, formerly Stewart Grand Prix in late 2004.
In his time as team boss, Horner has overseen the Milton Keynes based outfit win 8 drivers’ championships and 6 constructors’ titles.
“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years, said Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and New Investments of Red Bull GmbH, and who is known to have been keen to revamp the team, seeking a more Austrian-focussed management. “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.”
Laurent Mekies, currently team principal at Racing Bulls, will replace Horner, while Alan Permane takes the helm at RB.
“The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter (Bayer),” said Mekies. “It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people.
“The spirit of the whole team is incredible,” he added, “and I strongly believe that this is just the beginning. Alan is the perfect man to take over now and continue our path. He knows the team inside out and has always been an important pillar of our early successes.”
“I feel very honoured to take on the role as team principal and would like to thank Oliver and Helmut for the trust they have shown in me,” said Permane. “I am looking forward to working with Peter to continue the good work that both him and Laurent have done in taking this team forward. This is a new challenge for me, but I know that I can count on the support of everyone within them.”
Interestingly, Max Verstappen’s own official website carries a story titled ‘Horner replaced by Mekies as team boss of Red Bull Racing’, and while it includes the quotes from Mintzlaff and Mekies, there is no reaction from the four-time world champion to today’s shock news.
However, his manager Raymond Vermeulen, told Holland’s De Telegraaf: “We were informed in advance by Red Bull’s management that this decision had been made. It’s up to Red Bull to provide further explanation regarding the reasons.
“We continue to look at the sporting side,” he added, “and are looking for more performance so we can return to the top. In that respect, nothing will change.”
Of course, everything will change for the Austrian team appears to be in freefall at present.
Whatever the truth of the Horner saga, there has been increasing unrest within the team ever since the death of Dietrich Mateschitz. The team has haemorrhaged invaluable high level personnel, while there has also been bitter infighting between various factions seeking to get control.
The car is a dog – as witnessed by the failure of successive number two drivers – and there is no sign that this will change, added to which is the uncertainty over the 2026 engine.
While social media has witnessed the expected gloating over Horner’s demise, the Briton could yet come out of it laughing, for despite the text saga he has successfully managed a multi-championship winning team for twenty years.
