Christian Horner fired: What led to Red Bull Formula 1 team principal's exit
Red Bull announced the move Wednesday, firing Horner abruptly and appointing Laurent Mekies as the new CEO of Red Bull Racing. Mekies had been serving as the team principal of Red Bull's F1 sister team, the Racing Bulls, this season.
The decision comes at a fraught time for the Red Bull F1 team after Horner and four-time defending Formula 1 drivers' champion Max Verstappen again fielded questions last week concerning Verstappen's future.
Verstappen, who currently sits in third place in the drivers' standings behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren, is being pursued by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the 2026 season. Horner called the speculation about Verstappen "a lot of noise," and Verstappen declined to comment on the situation.
Verstappen's contract with Red Bull runs through 2028 but it includes an exit clause after this season if Red Bull were to be below third place in the Formula 1 constructors' standings heading into the circuit's summer break, according to ESPN. Red Bull currently sits in fourth place in the constructors' title race, trailing McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes with just two races left until the summer break.
Horner, 51, had been the team principal of Red Bull racing since it began fielding a Formula 1 team in 2005. He is married to Geri Halliwell from The Spice Girls, but became a celebrity figure in his own right through Netflix's "Drive to Survive" F1 docuseries in recent years. Horner's rivalry with Wolff and Mercedes was an ongoing focus of the show.
Over the past 18 months, Red Bull has also lost car design expert Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber Motorsport. Though Verstappen won the drivers' championship for the fourth year in a row in 2024, Red Bull finished in third place behind McLaren and Ferrari.
Horner's contract with Red Bull was not set to expire until 2030, according to Reuters.
"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," Red Bull CEO of corporate projects and investments Oliver Mintzlaff said in a statement. "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."
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