Guenther Steiner reveals what surprised him about Red Bull's sacking of Christian Horner

Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner revealed that he was surprised by the timing of former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner's sacking earlier this year. The Brit was ousted from his role as team principal and CEO of the Austrian team at the end of the 2025 British Grand Prix.

The 51-year-old had been subjected to a lot of criticism over the last 18 months owing to his allegations surrounding inappropriate behavior in the workplace. While many assumed that he would leave his job last year, Horner continued in his role amidst reports of internal conflicts within the organization.

Christian Horner had been part of the Milton Keynes-based outfit since the start of its journey in 2005 and had played a key role in their success. In his interview with Inside Line, Steiner was asked about his ex-boss's sacking as he revealed the most surprising element behind Red Bull's recent resurgence, saying:

"Not the sacking. I mean, not that they split, but the timing was confusing for me because something was going on there. We all know that since the beginning of last year, and at some stage, it never calmed down. So at some stage, something needs to break, and it could be him or somebody else; something had to go. So that was not a big surprise.

"I would say more like the comeback of Max, because for sure Max doesn't have the second fastest car, but he still wins. He's the guy who won more races than after the papayas won more races than anybody else put together." (2:15)

Christian Horner received a payout of a whopping $100m from Red Bull as compensation and could return to the F1 grid as soon as next year.

McLaren CEO chimes in on Christian Horner's return to F1

McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated that he believed that former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had a "stellar" stint in the sport despite the duo not seeing eye-to-eye with each other.

Speaking with Bloomberg, the American gave his honest thoughts on his ex-rival and said:

"I think he's had a stellar career in Formula 1; his results are lots of drivers' championships, world championships. I think when you get into sport, not everyone's best friends, there are different characters, so, while we may not have too many cups of tea in England, as we say, you need all different types of characters in the sport."

Christian Horner had developed a rivalry with Toto Wolff and Zak Brown over the years, with the former taking shots at the latter on several occasions. The Brit was staunch in his defense of his team and even sometimes went over the line to attack his rivals on the track.