Christian Horner said Red Bull never explained his firing after 20-year run
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 13, 2026
Horner dismissal
Christian Horner said he still did not know the exact reason Red Bull ended his 20-year run as team principal, and he said the move had come down to more than one issue inside the Formula 1 giant. He described the dismissal as “brutal and sad,” then pointed to a broader shift in how the team was run after Dietrich Mateschitz died. Horner said Red Bull’s leadership may have felt too much control was in his hands after Mateschitz was gone, and he said relationships inside the organization changed as the power structure changed with it. He also said the decision seemed tied more to performance and Red Bull’s future than to the sexual-harassment allegations he faced in early 2024.
Horner pushed back hard on the idea that Max Verstappen or Jos Verstappen drove him out. He said the removal was “a Red Bull decision,” not something engineered by the world champion or his father. He left after helping Red Bull win 8 drivers’ championships and 6 constructors’ titles. Even with that record, the exact reason for the decision remained unclear to him.
Horner allegations
Horner also said Red Bull’s internal investigation cleared him of the sexual-harassment allegations that emerged before his exit. He made clear that he saw those claims and his eventual dismissal as separate matters.
He later built what he called a reasonable relationship with Red Bull executive Oliver Mintzlaff and found some peace away from Formula 1’s political battles. That did not erase the split, but it showed the two sides had moved toward a calmer place. Horner’s comments presented a picture of a long-serving leader who felt the center of gravity move away from him, then watched the team redefine itself around that change.
Horner legacy
The dismissal hit Horner at a difficult personal moment. He said it came just days after the death of his former partner Beverley Allen, the mother of his daughter Olivia, from eye cancer. He said that made the moment feel even harsher and deepened the sense of loss around leaving a team he had helped build. Horner said he felt “great sadness” and “robbed” while watching from home as Max Verstappen won with Red Bull’s first power unit, a moment that carried extra meaning because he had helped create the engine project before he was fired. He said the sight stung because he did not get to see Red Bull Powertrains win in person.
That frustration also tied into the way Horner saw his exit from the team. He said the power unit reached the grid under Laurent Mekies after his departure, and the sequence left him watching a project he helped launch move forward without him. The engine effort stood alongside the rest of his record at Red Bull, where he oversaw years of title success. His departure closed that chapter, but his comments showed he still measured the exit against the trophies, the power shift after Mateschitz and the personal blow that came with it.
