'The million-dollar Max Verstappen question' behind Red Bull's sacking of Christian Horner, according to former McLaren man

Former McLaren man Juan Pablo Montoya feels that there is a million-dollar unanswered question around Red Bull firing Christian Horner that has yet to be answered. According to the Colombian, a question needs to be asked over whether the Brit was fired because Max Verstappen is leaving the team, or he was fired to keep him from leaving.

Red Bull as a team has been on the decline for some time now, and arguably it all began in 2024 when the Christian Horner scandal first became public. Since then, the team has been a hotbed of extreme politics, with steps being taken to try and push the team boss out of the outfit.

While Christian Horner weathered the storm in 2024, Red Bull's fortunes did not change drastically in 2025 either, and at the halfway mark of the season, it does appear that Max Verstappen is more or less out of the championship battle. While this continues, the board has decided that Christian Horner should not be a part of the team anymore and hence has removed him with immediate effect.

Many theories have emerged when it comes to Red Bull's decision to sack Christian Horner, but it does appear that there is a lack of clarity on what the reality is. Talking to BetVictor Casino, Montoya admitted his shock at the call as he questioned what the real reason was behind doing something like this. He said,

“I think Christian Horner’s sacking has surprised everybody. There has been talk for the last year and a half about them possibly wanting Horner out, because of all the drama happening internally at Red Bull. I think there are going to be a lot of changes in Red Bull, they need a lot of changes."

He added,

“The million-dollar question is, have Red Bull got rid of Horner because Max Verstappen is leaving, or did they get rid of Horner to prevent Max from leaving? That’s what everyone will be wondering about for the next few weeks or months until we know what happens with Max. Overall, I think the sacking has a lot to do with Max leaving Red Bull. Whether it’s about Max staying or leaving, that will be the big question mark everyone is wondering about.”

Sacking Christian Horner the right call by Red Bull

Giving his opinion on the situation, Juan Pablo Montoya felt that sacking Christian was the right call by Red Bull, as the team has been going through a lot of struggle. The Austrian team has been a far cry from the peak of 2023, where it won everything, as this time around it does appear highly unlikely that Verstappen would be battling for the title.

Talking about the decision, Montoya said,

"With how hard the Red Bull car is to drive, they need to rebuild their team. Adrian Newey has left, and they need a new structure to be put in place. In the long term, Red Bull will be okay, but in the short term, they’re going to struggle to put everything in place and hire the right people."

He added,

“It’s going to be exciting from the outside to see what happens at Red Bull. I do feel sorry for Christian because of everything he’s done for the team. Everything happens for a reason and we’ll see what happens.”

Christian Horner has been replaced by Laurent Mekies at Red Bull, someone who had been brought by the Brit from Ferrari to Racing Bulls. It would be interesting to see how the replacement works within the team, especially as the team is going to go through a tough time.