It was a rapid downfall, but at the same time it seemed to have been on the card for a long time.
Christian Horner put real pressure on his job early last season and started the fight. The damage may have been at the time, but even by getting through that particular storm he was navigating several others until Wednesday’s announcement.
The longest team principal on the grid has gone, leading Red Bull to eight driver championships and six constructor titles in 20 full seasons.
However, despite being accused of sexual harassment and forced conduct by female employees in the beginning of 2024, the beginning of the end can probably be traced back to October 2022.
During the US Grand Prix Weekend that year, Dietrich Metistiz, co-founder and owner of Red Bull and founder of the Red Bull Racing Team, died, and the balance of power within Red Bull GMBH began to change. It was not clear how or where it would settle, but it also reduced the number to Formula 1 teams.
During the dominant 2023 campaign, there was still some uncertainty. The relationship between Horner, a close personal friend of Mateschitz, and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, appeared tense and there were disagreements.
This situation could lead to the departure of one of the two at the time, but Max Verstappen said the success that Red Bull enjoys proved the importance of stability.
“Everyone remains in the exact same role,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “It was never a discussion. When you’re doing well and your team is doing very well, it’s very important. You’re keeping people very important to your team’s success. Everyone knows that.
“From our side, it’s always been very clear. I don’t know why people outside the team are trying to doubt it. It’s always clear from our side that it has to stay that way.”
It didn’t stay that way.
Regardless of the catalyst, key staff began leaving Red Bull the following year. An investigation into Horner’s conduct was destroyed before the season began, creating clear tensions between Team Principal and Joss Verstappen.
Rob Marshall’s departure as chief designer was announced in mid-2023, but Chief Technology Officer Adrian Newey has since confirmed he will leave in May 2024, and sports director Jonathan Wheatley’s move to Sauber was made public three months later. What was clearly described as extremely important to Verstappen was something that hadn’t happened and the key staff were not being followed.
Following the 2022 death of Red Bull founder and co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz (pictured above with Horner in 2015), Red Bull Racing’s leadership began to split into factions. Mark Sutton/Getty Images
While Red Bull’s chaos was rarely admitted to leaving, Whaitley admitted that he could have played some form of role in his own departure.
“You can understand why people were thinking back at the time (at Red Bull) what was going on, and I think that’s all part of it,” Wheatley told the racers. “It was probably, but it wasn’t conscious.”
Anyway, from the moment Newey’s intentions were announced, ontrack performance really slapped the tail. Verstappen won under pressure in Canada, Canada and Spain, but the slide continued, with four more wins in 26 races.
The two came at the end of 2024 when they secured two straight driver titles, but the trend was clear, and pressure was on Red Bull to find a solution to the car’s problems ahead of the current final season of regulations.
On the 2026 horizon, Red Bull is not offering upticks this year when it delivers its first power unit as a manufacturer. Verstappen sometimes performed miracles in his car, scoring just seven points for the two drivers in the seat along with him. However, his personal return at the 165-year-old, including two wins, is not enough for him to get in touch with McLaren. He is now 69 points away from his championship lead.
The title looks very unlikely from here, but it is expected that in 2026 there will also be some teething pain from the Red Bull battle. All of this becomes a real threat to Verstappen moving on, and the team loses the best drivers on the grid.
Horner therefore paid the price despite leading the team in every race since joining the sport in 2005.
This is half of the victory Ferrari has, but the 248 Scuderia tally comes from the start of the race in 1109 compared to Red Bull’s 405.
And Horner not only oversaw a dominant period since 2010, when Sebastian Vettel became a four-time world champion, but also showed that he could dip at Verstappen and return to the front line, leading the team throughout the cycle.
However, the latest cycle is a negative cycle, with no catalysts in place of new power unit regulations that have retreated Red Bull since 2014. Also, Horner hasn’t proposed a bright future with Daniel Ricciardo putting his lead driver in the rearview mirror.
Whether Verstappen is seriously squeezing his move towards Mercedes, Red Bull’s direction of travel has not been good for a while, despite previously holding a dominant position on the field. And Horner’s own position was weakened even during that period, even if he seemed to survive each of his challenges.
While his legacy from a team’s outcome and growth perspective is very surprising, it is difficult to oppose the fact that over the past 18 months, he has felt that his tenure is inevitable.
