Christian Horner's close aide reveals Red Bull did not give any reason before firing him

Red Bull sacked Christian Horner in the days following the conclusion of the British GP. While multiple theories have been discussed in the F1 paddock, one of them has stood out the most. According to Horner's longtime friend, Martin Brundle, the Austrian giant axed the 51-year-old without giving any justification for the move.

The Briton had led the Milton Keynes-based squad since it was rebranded from Jaguar to Red Bull in 2005. Under his leadership, the outfit achieved massive success, as two drivers in Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen became multiple-time drivers' world champions.

Despite this, dark clouds loomed over the 51-year-old's job security as he was the subject of an internal investigation after an employee claimed that he had behaved inappropriately with a colleague. While Horner was successfully able to defend himself from the first round of threats, his shield seemingly faded after his biggest backer finally gave in to the idea of impeaching him from the team.

However, many people within the paddock were unable to comprehend the reasoning behind such a sudden firing, including Brundle, who asserted that sacking Christian Horner in the middle of the season was nothing but odd. The former F1 racer and current pundit said on Sky Sports F1's The F1 Show:

"I did try to speak to Christian before we did this. He said he’ll talk later, but that he hadn’t been given any reason...So it is seismic, because he was such an integral part of the Red Bull team...For whatever reason, they’ve decided that Christian’s not the man to lead them into the next phase, that Laurent Mekies is, and other people they’ll, no doubt, put around him. So, it’s just odd. This is a strange time to do it, and a strange urgency, I would say to that."

Meanwhile, Christian Horner was sacked with immediate effect from the Milton Keynes-based squad, and he was replaced by Laurent Mekies.

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The suddenness of the decision resonated in Christian Horner's farewell speech at Red Bull

Christian Horner at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Source: Getty

Christian Horner was caught off guard by the Red Bull hierarchy's decision to sack him. This was indeed the case as the Briton had successfully led the Austrian outfit to the epitome of F1 glory.

Moreover, with the decision coming out of the blue, Horner shared with his colleagues how he was shocked by his sudden departure from the team. While bidding adieu to the squad, he said:

"The decision came as a shock to myself. Obviously when I have had a chance to reflect over the last 12 hours or so and I wanted to stand in front of all of you to break this news, and just express my gratitude to each and every single member of the team that has given so much during the 20 and a half years that I have been here."

"Watching and being a part of this team has been the biggest privilege in my life," he added.

Red Bull sits fourth in the interim constructors' table at the time of Horner's departure, and the team has conceded its spot in the standings to McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes within the last 12 months.