But amid an internal investigation over allegations of inappropriate\u00a0behaviour and an appeal \u2013 both of which cleared Horner\u2019s name \u2013 it set into action a fractious power struggle at Red Bull in 2024.<\/p>\n
With high profile team members such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley leaving and Red Bull\u2019s results in decline going into 2025, Horner was sacked as team principal in July 2025.<\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with sister publication Autosport<\/a>, Horner has opened up on what he felt led to his departure.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the company just wanted to go in a different direction, or perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team,\u201d\u00a0Horner said. \u201cAnd, of course, life after Dietrich [Mateschitz] had passed was quite different within the group.\u201d<\/p>\n Christian Horner<\/p>\n Photo by: Autosport<\/p>\n Horner was chosen by Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz to lead the transformation of the F1 team following the takeover of the Jaguar outfit, and was a close ally throughout their partnership.<\/p>\n Mateschitz\u2019s death in October 2022 is widely considered to have started the power struggle at the Red Bull team, with the brand\u2019s board, overseen by CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, looking to take more control over F1 operations and away from Horner\u2019s remit.<\/p>\n Horner paid tribute to Mateschitz and the faith he put in him at Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was Red Bull. All the significant decisions were going through him, he built that business from nothing in a great partnership with the\u00a0Yoovidhya family,\u201d Horner said, referring to Red Bull\u2019s other co-owners alongside Mateschitz.<\/p>\n \u201cDietrich was passionate about racing, cars, he loved the drivers, he loved all forms of\u00a0motorsport. When you look at the contribution he made, not just to Formula 1 but to rallying, to all the junior categories, there’s not a form of motorsport that you look at these days that doesn’t in some way have the sun and bull logo on a car or on a driver.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s easy to underestimate what he actually has done for the world of\u00a0motorsport, so inevitably when you lose a founder like that it leaves a void and it’s just different. He was very good to me, he gave me the chance, he believed in me and he gave me the freedom to operate the business and I’ll forever be grateful to him for that.\u201d<\/p>\n It was this seismic change at the very top of the Red Bull empire that shook up the\u00a0organisation and Horner felt it had an impact on his role at Red Bull F1 team principal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just different after that. Suddenly there was a lot more committee and corporately-driven [management] than perhaps a one-man founder and the decision-making process that we’d become accustomed to.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/christian-horner.jpg\")
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![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/christian-horner-book-cover.jpg\")
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