(Motorsport-Total.com) – On July 9, 2025, it was over: Christian Horner was relieved of his role as Red Bull team principal with immediate effect. In the eighth season of Drive to Survive on Netflix, the Briton speaks out about his dismissal and reveals who he believes was responsible. (All Formula 1 races live on Sky)
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“I have a real sense of loss and hurt. It all happened quite suddenly. I didn’t really have the chance to say a proper goodbye,” Horner looks back on the hours before his dismissal last year. “I never thought I would ever be in this situation.”
“Of course, the first reaction when you’re presented with such crap is something like: Screw them! Something was taken from me that I didn’t choose, something that was very important to me,” the former team principal adds. “I have always given my best.”
“I did everything for my team, for the people I represented. But my performance this year wasn’t as good as usual.” Red Bull was in a sporting slump at the time of Horner’s dismissal; the last Verstappen victory in Imola was already several weeks ago.
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In addition, things were simmering behind the scenes: As a result of the Horner affair in the spring of 2024, the 52-year-old’s reputation had suffered, and internal strife broke out – both with Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko. The mood in the team was fractured.
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Horner dismissal: Verstappen family not responsible
But Horner does not believe that the initiative for the dismissal came from the Verstappen family. “[Max Verstappen’s] father was never my biggest fan. He spoke openly about me,” Horner recalls. “But I don’t think the Verstappens were responsible in any way.”
“I think this was a decision by Oliver Mintzlaff, with Helmut [Marko] standing on the sidelines in an advisory capacity,” the former team principal says, instead passing the buck to the 82-year-old Austrian. “Ultimately, things changed in the company, within the group.”
It all started with the death of company founder Diedrich Mateschitz, which led to power games – and apparently heralded the end for Horner: “After Dietrich’s death, I was probably seen as someone who perhaps had too much control.”