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Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull on July 9, 2025, after the Briton served as the Team Principal of the Milton Keynes-based team for two decades. Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 Chief Executive and the founder of the Formula One Group, reacted to the Red Bull Racing CEO’s exit from the team.
Many theories have risen about the reason behind Horner's exit, with some suggesting that it was because of the lackluster performance with Red Bull now being only the 4th best team, while other reports suggested that it was a meeting between Max Verstappen and Oliver Mintzlaff, which was crucial as the Dutchman was said to be in talks with Mercedes for a 2026 move.
Former F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone also reacted to the Red Bull sacking Horner. He claimed that he had a conversation with Christian Horner on the day before the sacking, and that the former Red Bull Team Principal didn't seem to know about it. Further speaking about Red Bull’s decision, Ecclestone said:
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“All I know is the message the whole world has got, which is, he's been fired, effective immediately. It's the effective immediately I don't understand. Why would they ask him to leave with immediate effect? It's like he's murdered somebody.
"You can understand, if you're going to fire somebody, then you'd have a chat before and you'd come out with something like, 'We've agreed to part company', or something’. But to come out and say, 'You're fired with immediate effect', he must have done something a bit drastic for that to happen. It must be something very serious, in my opinion,” he added.
Horner was fired effective immediately by the Milton Keynes-based outfit. According to the 51-year-old, he had no knowledge about the same and suggested that it came as a surprise to him. It was also reported that the former Red Bull Team Principal wasn't given a reason for the sacking.
Ralf Schumacher also suggested that there was a heated argument between Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, and Christian Horner at last weekend's British GP.
“It was time”: Ralf Schumacher’s reacts to Christian Horner's sacking
Christian Horner was accused of sexually harassing a Red Bull Racing employee in 2024, which was followed by an almighty power struggle and eventually led to Adrian Newey’s exit from the team. Ralf Schumacher suggested that Horner rebuild the team, but wasn't able to deliver and hence was let go amid the recent poor performances.
“Basically, you have to say that Christian Horner had an incredibly successful time with Red Bull, 20 years, and won many titles,” said Schumacher, via GP Blog.
''So, I have great respect for his achievements, but of course there was a big personal issue in recent years – from then on, the whole issue became a bit cumbersome and many people left the team, and Christian Horner simply wasn't able to rebuild the team or recruit new people. So it was time,” he added.
Christian Horner will be replaced by VCARB Team Principal Laurent Mekies, whereas Alan Permane will take over Mekies’ role at VCARB.
