Christian Horner’s first wife Beverley Allen died just days before Red Bull fired him

Christian Horner's ex-wife, Beverley Allen, passed away last Monday after battling eye cancer for two long years. This happened days before Horner was fired from Red Bull.

Allen and Horner were together between 1999 and 2014. They were together when Horner joined Red Bull Racing in the 2005 F1 season as CEO and team principal. They saw the team rise from the bottom, clinching their first championship with Sebastian Vettel in the 2010 season. They also had a daughter, Olivia, who is currently 11 years old.

The couple split in 2014. This was the first time in four seasons that RBR hadn't won a title. The new regulations turned out to be advantageous for Mercedes. A year later, in 2015, Christian Horner married Geri Halliwell. She is known for her music career with the pop band Spice Girls.

Beverley Allen had been battling eye cancer for the past two years. It is not known if she was still in contact with Horner a decade after their divorce, but it was devastating news for the family.

Just days later, Christian Horner was sacked from Red Bull Racing. While the exact reason for this is unknown, there have been a few reported causes.

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Why was Christian Horner fired from Red Bull?

Horner was the longest-serving team principal in F1 history. As mentioned, he had served the role since the team's inception in 2005. Under him, they went through two clear stints of domination with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in different eras. In all, Horner was responsible for 124 race wins, eight drivers', and six constructors' championships. Then why did the team take such a violent turn?

Christian Horner was seemingly building a house of cards in the past year. It began with allegations of 'inappropriate behavior' against him by a RBR employee. Although an internal investigation cleared him of all the allegations, the damage had been done. Many key officials, including Adrian Newey, left the team, and the allegations were reported to be one of the reasons.

This was followed by a steep fall in the team's performance. McLaren managed to catch up with Red Bull in the second half of the season, clinching the Constructors' Championship. Moreover, they have been underperforming this season as well.

Last but not least, poor driver choices. The team signed Liam Lawson after firing Sergio Perez. Lawson was then replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two races this season. The instability has put a major load on the team as they continue to suffer the wrath of an uncompetitive car. While none of these reasons have been confirmed by any official, most sources report the same.

Laurent Mekies, former team principal of VCARB, took Horner's role at Red Bull Racing.