Former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner’s text message was read out on live TV during last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Horner was ousted from his role with immediate effect for reasons unknown. But given Red Bull’s performance struggles during the 2024 race at Monza, Horner sent Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle a message after Max Verstappen won the 2025 round.
Horner has served at Red Bull for more than two decades since the team’s F1 debut in 2005. His sudden exit after the race weekend at Silverstone sent shockwaves across the paddock. He was replaced by Laurent Mekies, who was team principal of Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls.
While much has been spoken about Horner since his departure, especially by other team principals like Toto Wolff, who admitted missing him in the paddock, Horner was mentioned again as Brundle read out his text, in which the former team boss revealed how Red Bull brought a wrong rear wing to the 2024 Italian GP, leading Verstappen to finish sixth, 37.9 seconds behind race winner Charles Leclerc. Brundle’s live statement on Sky F1 was quoted by Planet F1. He said:
“A message from Christian Horner here actually, saying, ‘This was our worst race last year. We had the wrong downforce level,’ and how hard the team have worked on that package and done a great job. Of course, they’ve turned it around.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing arrives in the Paddock prior to final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 14, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec….
Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing arrives in the Paddock prior to final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 14, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec.
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The four-time world champion won the 2025 Italian GP and ended McLaren’s winning streak that began at the end of June in Austria. The race also marked his 66th Grand Prix victory, and a first under Mekies’ leadership. This year’s race result was a stark contrast to the disaster Red Bull endured last year.
Speaking of the race, Verstappen started on pole position, only to lose the top spot to McLaren’s Lando Norris in the opening lap. However, his Red Bull RB21 car’s dominant pace helped him overtake the Briton in no time, and he pulled away quickly, creating a gap of a little over 19 seconds to Norris by the checkered flag. Addressing the media after winning the race, the Dutchman said:
“It was a great day for us. Lap 1 was a bit unlucky but after that we were flying. The car was really enjoyable. I could manage the pace quite well throughout that first stint and we pitted at the right time.
“With the hard tyres at the end, you can push a bit more, it’s more resilient. Fantastic execution by everyone by the whole team. The whole weekend, we were on it. It’s super enjoyable to win here.”
Opening up on the dominant pace of his RB21, Verstappen said:
“I could see the pace was good, I just needed to settle in. I could see the pace was there and quite quickly we were back in the lead. This was an unbelievable weekend.”