Christian Horner may not have been a shareholder at Red Bull, like Toto Wolff at Mercedes or former colleague Adrian Newey at Aston Martin. But he was extremely powerful.
As the CEO and team principal, Horner was responsible for every division of the Red Bull F1 operation. He may have thought he was consolidating power by broadening his scope, but it was perhaps to his own detriment.
Horner refused to restructure Red Bull before he was sacked. The team may have felt he was spreading himself too thin.
Replacement Laurent Mekies will accept reduced authority, and perhaps that model will prove more effective. Despite his excellent record, Horner too may need to compromise if he’s to take up another role within F1.
Christian Horner enjoyed being the ‘baddie’ on Drive to Survive
According to F1 journalist Adam Hay-Nicholls, Red Bull ‘sources’ concur that Horner was ‘getting too big for his boots’ in the lead-up to his exit. His ‘overreaching’ fuelled these accusations.
But there was also a feeling that he was ‘taking too much credit’ for the team’s successes. Indeed, Newey felt Horner unfairly downplayed his influence, which was one of the reasons he resigned last year.
Horner was ‘too pleased with himself’ for being the ‘pantomime baddie’ on Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary. This may not have been the image that the team wanted to project.
On the most recent season, Horner openly courted Oscar Piastri from rivals McLaren. He was also filmed saying Charles Leclerc ‘makes a lot of mistakes’.
Red Bull staff laid the blame on Christian Horner after losing out on their bonuses
Red Bull employees were divided on Horner. He lost the support of senior management, but many staff had formed a bond with him during his 20-year stint.
Indeed, Horner was applauded for several minutes after his farewell speech at the factory. Some onlookers were crying as he broke the news.
There were moments when he seemed invincible, but he made one misstep too many. For instance, Horner stuck by Sergio Perez even when he was struggling, and then had to release him at the end of 2024 at enormous expense.
Perez’s increasingly erratic form saw Red Bull slip down the constructors’ championship, which had ramifications for staff bonuses. This year, they’re on course to finish fourth – their lowest position for a decade.