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Renowned F1 photographer Keith Sutton has expressed shock and surprise at the news of Christian Horner being sacked by Red Bull. The Briton shared a long, heartfelt message via his Instagram, highlighting Horner's achievements in F1.
The news of Christian Horner being sacked by Red Bull came as a shock to most people in the F1 world. Famous F1 photographer Keith Sutton was no different. Sutton shared an Instagram post with images of himself with Horner. He also shared other snaps from throughout Horner's career in motorsport.
He also shared a long message along with the post, in which he highlighted Red Bull's achievements under Horner's stewardship in the last 20 years. He also shared that he first met the former Red Bull chief in 1995, when he was racing in the British F3 championships.
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"I was shocked and surprised today to find out that Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull Racing," wrote Sutton.
"You cannot ignore a talent like Christian’s and I’m pretty sure that it won’t be too long before we see him in another team," he also added.
Christian Horner helped build the Red Bull empire in F1 from the ground up. Up until Wednesday, July 9, he had been the only team principal in the Austrian outfit's history. Now, Racing Bull's Laurent Mekies has been promoted to take over the role with immediate effect.
Horner co-founded the Arden International Racing Team in 1997, competing in the F3000 Championship. In 2004, he led the team to a championship victory before becoming the youngest F1 team principal when he joined Red Bull in 2005.
Helmut Marko's farewell message to Christian Horner
Red Bull Racing senior advisor Helmut Marko released a message thanking Christian Horner for his services after the 51-year-old was sacked by the Austrian team. Marko also claimed that Red Bull will continue to push to achieve the Drivers' championship title with Max Verstappen in 2025.
Sharing a farewell message for Horner, Marko mentioned that they both combined to develop two F1 world champions and many more Grand Prix winners.
"Christian and I have worked together very successfully for over 20 years – both in Formula 1 and in Formula 3000. I would like to sincerely thank Christian for that," said Marko.
"During this time, we were able to celebrate an incredible number of outstanding achievements. We helped develop two World Drivers’ Champions and several Grand Prix winners. That has always been – and still is – the Red Bull way," he added.
Speaking about the ongoing season, Marko added:
"As for the current sporting situation: there are still 12 races to go, and we will continue to fight for the Drivers’ Championship as long as it's mathematically possible."
Marko and Horner were heavily reported to be stuck in a power struggle within the Red Bull setup. Internal politics had prevailed at the Milton Keynes-based outfit for the last 18 months, which now leaves Horner out of his role.
