Alpine boss Flavio Briatore pays tribute to Christian Horner after Red Bull fires the team principal

Alpine executive advisor and de facto team principal, Flavio Briatore, shared a tribute to Christian Horner, the former Red Bull boss. Briatore took to his official social media account to post an image with Horner right after Red Bull sacked him with immediate effect.

Briatore, the former Renault F1 team boss, worked with Horner as a fellow team boss in the late 2000s. This was the time when Horner joined the Austrian team as its team principal and headed a newly rebranded team from Jaguar.

From 2005 to 2025, the British boss was at the helm of affairs and guided his team to eight Drivers' Championships and six Constructors' titles. However, midway through 2025, Red Bull sacked him and put former Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies in charge.

As Horner's time at the Milton Keynes-based team was over, Briatore took the opportunity to pay a tribute to the British boss. Taking to his official Instagram account, here's what the Italian businessman and Alpine executive wrote:

"20 years at the top says it all. A competitor on the track but also a friend off track. Well done on your achievements @christianhorner at @redbullracing and wishing you all the best on your next adventure. Forza Christian!"

Here's the post by Flavio Briatore on Christian Horner:

As per reports, Red Bull top brass hosted multiple high-level meetings following the conclusion of the British GP at Silverstone last weekend. The subject matter of the meetings was reported to be Horner's performance as team principal and Red Bull's unending story of struggles.

Moreover, it was reported that the Verstappen camp (Max Verstappen, Jos Verstappen (father), and Raymond Vermeulen (manager) wanted Horner out of the team to push for a change in Red Bull's senior leadership. In a nutshell, Christian Horner's two decades of service at Red Bull have finally come to an end.

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What are the factors that led to Christian Horner's dismissal?

Multiple factors called for Christian Horner's dismissal from Red Bull. The first and foremost was the inappropriate scandal, in which he was involved with a female member of the team.

Christian Horner of United Kingdom and Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull - Source: Getty

This has come amid Red Bull's constant downward spiral in terms of performance, and the underwhelming performance by Red Bull's second car. Despite changing the driver in 2025, there has been no improvement in the second Red Bull car.

Besides this, Max Verstappen's link with Mercedes has also been a leading factor behind the dismissal. Recent rumors suggested that Verstappen's camp was in talks with the Silver Arrows management, and if things don't go his way, the four-time world champion could trigger the exit clause and make his move out of Red Bull.