'Angry' Christian Horner phone call revealed as Red Bull F1 priorities questioned

Christian Horner

'Angry' Christian Horner phone call revealed as Red Bull F1 priorities questioned

Axed boss Christian Horner's commitment to Red Bull has been questioned

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 19 July 2025 19:42

Christian Horner’s priorities have been questioned after an 'angry' phone call from the former Red Bull team principal was revealed on a F1 podcast.

The 51-year-old was sacked from his role as team boss after the British Grand Prix, following a disappointing year for Red Bull alongside rumours that Max Verstappen could switch to Mercedes.

In a recent episode of Sky Sports Germany podcast ‘Backstage Pit Lane’, Peter Hardenacke discussed Horner’s departure with Ralf Schumacher, and questioned Horner’s commitment to the role of team principal.

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The pundit claimed that Horner was focused on his own image, and alleged that he made an ‘angry’ phone call when he was snubbed for a TV feature.

“There is an episode, perhaps someone could also tell you about it, there was a feature that was made by Servus TV, the in-house channel of Red Bull, about Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes,” Hardenacke explained.

“And apparently, Christian Horner saw it and then immediately made an angry phone call, asking why they hadn’t done something like that with him.

“So, you can see in which areas Christian Horner was active and what was important to him.

“And even in some of the episodes of Drive to Survive, it’s a great format, clearly it made Formula 1 bigger and more famous, but I think that was already too far removed from what a team principal should be doing.”

Horner sacked as Red Bull boss

Horner and Wolff have emerged as F1 protagonists since the Drive to Survive era, particularly following a tense title battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in 2021.

The Mercedes team principal could truly triumph should he snatch the four-time world champion from Red Bull for the 2026 season, with Wolff’s team tipped to master the next set of regulations.

For now however, Verstappen will be hoping Red Bull can return to their winning ways under new team principal Laurent Mekies, as the 2025 world drivers’ championship is not an impossibility for the Dutchman.

Despite the RB21’s setbacks, Verstappen has proven that he can stay in touch with the McLarens during qualifying and the race, remaining only 69 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.