Bernie Ecclestone blasts ‘idiot' Christian Horner after Red Bull sacking
The ex-Red Bull team principal seemed a permanent fixture in F1 until allegations of him sending suggestive WhatsApp messages to a female employee emerged last year, The Sun reports.
Horner, 51, has consistently denied the claims of inappropriate and controlling behaviour made against him.
In February 2024, Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing after multiple probes.
He spent a tumultuous three weeks fighting for his career after a female colleague alleged controlling and coercive behaviour by the boss.
The probe later investigated him allegedly sending improper messages to a woman.
A KC cleared Horner for a second time in August after the unnamed accuser launched an appeal following the internal probe.
Now F1 legend Bernie Ecclestone – a longtime friend of Horner – has criticised him for his conduct regarding the scandal.
He told the Telegraph: 'This other business that he got involved with 18 months ago, he was just an idiot.
'He was a 50-year-old who thought he was 20, thought he was one of the boys.'
Ecclestone and Horner's friendship extends to beyond the latter's arrival at Red Bull, with the pair reportedly attending each others weddings. Ex-Formula One boss Ecclestone was not surprised with the sacking, suggesting that unease surrounding Horner's prominence within the Red Bull brand could have played a role.
He said: 'It would probably have been better if they had said 'Come in Christian, sit down.'
'But the bottom line is there are people who thought he was getting away with things, that he was acting as if it was not the Red Bull ring, but the Christian Horner ring.'
Horner gave an emotional speech to Red Bull staff following his sacking.
He was not the only staff member to be fired, with a number of his closest allies also axed.
Ecclestone suggests the timing of the decision to move on from Horner coinciding with Red Bull's struggles to compete this season is not a coincidence.
He continued: 'He got away with so many things.
'All the time you are delivering, people close their eyes – but when you stop delivering, people start looking.
'One or two begin thinking 'Well I could do a better job.''
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is third in the standings while Red Bull trail McLaren by a whopping 288 points in the Constructors standings at the half way stage of the season.
The British racing executive ran the Red Bull F1 team for 20 years since his appointment in 2005, in which time he has become one of the most decorated team bosses of all time.
Horner's tenure oversaw six constructors titles and EIGHT drivers' championships across dominant spells with Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen.
The latter posted an emotional farewell to Horner following the dismissal. Horner will be succeeded in his role by French engineer Laurent Mekies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
US politics live: Man threatens Trump before hero passengers tackle him on flight
Welcome to our live coverage of US politics. A passenger onboard a flight from London has forced an emergency landing at Scotland's Glasgow Airport after yelling he had a bomb and wanted 'death to America' and Donald Trump - who is visiting the country. Harrowing footage filmed inside EasyJet flight 609 showed the moment the suspect, who has only been identified as a 41-year-old man, began shouting, 'Allahu Akbar!' and making threats at Mr Trump, who was just an hour away at his Turnberry golf course. 'I'm going to bomb the plane! Death to America! Death to Trump!' the man yelled before he was quickly tackled to the ground by fellow passengers. Meanwhile, Mr Trump said on Sunday that a trade agreement struck with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen sets 15 percent tariffs on exports from the European bloc. He told reporters in Scotland that the EU had committed to investing an extra $600 billion in the US, as well as purchasing $750 billion worth of energy. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the two sides clinched a trade deal. 'We have also agreed on zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products,' Ms von der Leyen said following the crunch talks in Scotland. She said the products included certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Defending champions England beat Spain on penalties to win Women's Euro 2025
Chloe Kelly converted the decisive kick as England beat Spain 3-1 on penalties to win the Women's Euro 2025 after Sunday's final had finished 1-1 at the end of extra time, allowing the Lionesses to avenge their defeat in the World Cup final of two years ago and retain their continental crown. It looked as though Spain would repeat their victory over England in Sydney two years ago as they dominated the game at St Jakob-Park in Basel and led through Mariona Caldentey's first-half header. But England did not panic, having already trailed against both Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semis before finding a way to win. Alessia Russo headed in their equaliser just before the hour mark, and no further goals meant a shoot-out in which Kelly -- who once again had a huge impact off the bench -- netted the winner. It was an agonising way to lose for Spain, but they failed to score three of their spot-kicks, with reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati seeing her effort saved. Sarina Wiegman's England are therefore back-to-back European champions, with this triumph coming three years after they defeated Germany in extra time at Wembley to win a first women's major tournament. Defeating Spain here helps make up for the agony of losing that World Cup final in 2023, and the victory also confirms Wiegman's place among the coaching greats. She has now won three consecutive European Championships, having led her native Netherlands to victory in 2017 before doing the same with England three years ago. Spain, meanwhile, fell short in their quest to add a maiden European Championship title to the World Cup they won in Australia. La Roja dominated possession as expected, but ultimately paid the price for not putting the game to bed against an England side who never know when they are beaten. Wiegman's team had been 2-0 down against Sweden in the last eight before scoring twice to force extra time as they eventually won on penalties. Then substitute Michelle Agyemang's 96th-minute equaliser denied Italy in the semi-finals in Geneva, when Kelly netted the winner in extra time. England had ultimately not played well during much of their run to the final, but it did not matter. Wiegman had taken a gamble on the fitness of Lauren James which paid off, but not quite as planned -- having come off with an ankle injury against Italy, the Chelsea winger did not last until half-time and was replaced by Kelly. - Caldentey and Russo exchange blows - By that point Spain were already in front, scoring when Bonmati and Athenea del Castillo combined to set up Ona Battle and her cross from the right was headed in by Caldentey. Montse Tome's Spain, with seven players from Barcelona in their starting line-up, had already been in control before that and it felt like England's best hope was for complacency from their opponents. The best example of that came with the game still goalless, when Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll played a careless short pass to Laia Aleixandri in her own area. Lauren Hemp was alive to the opportunity and pounced, but Coll reacted well to make the save. Yet even at 1-0 it felt like England were still in the game, and they took their chance when it came in the 57th minute when Kelly crossed from the left for her Arsenal teammate Russo to level the scores. England -- with more fans on their side in the crowd of 34,203 -- now sensed yet another comeback win was on the cards, and it took the fingertips of Coll to prevent a Kelly effort from finding the far corner midway through the second half. Agyemang then came on for Russo, hoping to once again play the role of super-sub, while Salma Paralluelo was among those brought on for Spain. Paralluelo found herself in a promising position on several occasions as the game continued into extra time, and from there to the gripping tension of penalties. Beth Mead's first kick for England was saved after she was forced to retake, and captain Leah Williamson also had her effort stopped by Coll. However, Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles both scored, while Patri Guijarro was the only successful taker for Spain before Kelly stepped up to win it.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘I've got a bomb!': Man threatens Trump before hero passengers tackle him on flight
A passenger onboard a flight has forced an emergency landing at Scotland's Glasgow Airport after yelling he had a bomb and wanted to 'send a message' to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the country. Harrowing footage filmed inside EasyJet flight 609 showed the moment the suspect, who has only been identified as a 41-year-old man, began shouting, 'Allahu Akbar!' and making threats at Mr Trump, who was just an hour away at his Turnberry golf course. 'I'm going to bomb the plane! Death to America! Death to Trump!' the man yelled before he was quickly tackled to the ground by fellow passengers. The incident happened around 8am local time on Sunday, just an hour after the plane took off from London's Luton Airport, with the suspect shouting his threats after coming out of the bathroom, a witness told The Sun. 'At that point, one guy managed to grab him from behind and pull him down, then everyone jumped on top of him,' the passenger said. 'He was fighting a bit on the floor, but at this point, he knew he'd f — ked up.' The men holding the suspect in place could be seen then interrogating him, with several passengers slamming him as an 'idiot' for threatening innocent people in a stunt directed toward Mr Trump. The hero passengers were able to keep the man in place until the jet landed and police and airport officials confirmed there were no explosives on board as they took the suspect into custody. As authorities walked the suspect down the aisle, he could be heard asking about his missing phone and wallet, prompting a passenger to yell, 'F – k off!' with the plane bursting into laughter. Scotland police said the case remains under investigation, with officials noting that the man appeared to act alone with no greater threat to the public. EasyJet confirmed that a suspect had been arrested by police after the emergency landing. 'Flight EZY609 from Luton to Glasgow this morning was met by police on arrival in Glasgow, where they boarded the aircraft and removed a passenger due to their behaviour onboard,' the company said in a statement. 'The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority,' the company added.
