Ever since that moment, Horner has been ever-present, watching his team win six constructors\u2019 championships<\/a> and eight drivers\u2019 championships in the process.<\/p>\n Horner was the main decision maker in recent years after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, with Helmut Marko<\/a> also playing a role as chief advisor to the team.<\/p>\n Both the Austrian and Thai sides of the Red Bull ownership have been taking a closer look at Horner\u2019s decision recently as the team\u2019s performance started to slip.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Horner lost the backing of Red Bull\u2019s Thai owners<\/a>, which led to his exit, but internally, there were already members of staff questioning his decisions.<\/p>\n READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth<\/a><\/p>\n Journalist and commentator Nelson Valkenburg was asked on The Race F1 Podcast whether recruitment and morale were a factor in Horner\u2019s Red Bull exit and said: \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a minor factor.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s been a brain drain at Red Bull, and there\u2019s a problem getting the right people there, but the people that are there now have seen the team fall away. I think they\u2019re fourth in the constructors right now.<\/p>\n Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 460 2 222 3 210 4 172 5 59 6 41 7 36 8 36 9 29 10 19 <\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t rely on bonuses every year, but if you\u2019re so successful as that team has been over the past few years, it\u2019s something you get accustomed to.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some rumours last year that the middle management in that team was getting frustrated with the fact that it was a one-car team, that Perez wasn\u2019t bringing in the points, so they lost out on the constructors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a problem there.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Sergio Perez\u2019s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname<\/a><\/p>\n Red Bull facing \u2018super unhappy\u2019 staff issue among Christian Horner\u2019s loyal workers<\/p>\n Valkenburg then went on to talk about members of Red Bull staff who were able to overlook Sergio Perez<\/a> and his final contract extension before being dropped six months later.<\/p>\n Perez signed a new contract at the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix<\/a>, days after a huge crash at Monaco, and failed to record a single podium finish after that moment.<\/p>\n Valkenburg believes Horner\u2019s sacking has created another problem for Laurent Mekies<\/a> to solve, as the 51-year-old still had plenty of loyal followers.<\/p>\n Grand Prix entered406Wins124Podiums287Pole positions107Points8009Drivers\u2019 championships8 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)Constructors\u2019 championships6 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2023)Christian Horner\u2019s F1 record at Red Bull<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFirst of all, they want to be better, so they need better people. Horner wasn\u2019t able to get them, but the people who stayed were very loyal to Horner, so they\u2019re very unhappy as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve heard over the last few days, we\u2019ve had some calls with some people there, is that the people that were still there, the core team that were so loyal to Horner, are super unhappy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit damned if you do, damned if you don\u2019t, but that team is not going to really warm up to Mekies super quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll win them over, but there are a lot of hurt people there. It just doesn\u2019t look good either way, whether it improves the opportunity to get the right people in, that\u2019s the second matter, but for the immediate future, that\u2019s an unhappy team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Christian Horner could never solve Red Bull driver conundrum alongside Max Verstappen<\/p>\n Horner employed 14 different Red Bull drivers<\/a> during his time as team principal, with varying levels of success.<\/p>\n Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, and Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were his most stable pairings, but aside from Daniel Ricciardo\u2019s time in the team and Coulthard\u2019s early success, every other driver has struggled.<\/p>\n YEARRED BULLRACING BULLS2019Verstappen & Gasly\/AlbonAlbon\/Gasly & Kvyat2020Verstappen & AlbonGasly & Kvyat2021Verstappen & PerezGasly & Tsunoda2022Verstappen & PerezGasly & Tsunoda2023Verstappen & PerezTsunoda & De Vries\/Ricciardo\/Lawson2024Verstappen & PerezTsunoda & Ricciardo\/Lawson2025Verstappen & Lawson\/TsunodaTsunoda\/Lawson & HadjarRed Bull and Racing Bulls F1 driver line-ups since 2019<\/p>\n Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon were both promoted prematurely, with Perez recalling a dig Horner made about Red Bull being a one-car team<\/a> before he signed.<\/p>\n![\"Red](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2211127489-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Kym Illman\/Getty ImagesRed Bull staff \u2018frustrated\u2019 by Sergio Perez contract extension agreed by Christian Horner<\/p>\n