Marko confirms the real reason why Red Bull sacked Christian Horner

Red Bull Racing’s decision to sack team principal Christian Horner sent shockwaves through the sport of F1, and just over two weeks on the fallout is still continuing.

On Tuesday July 9, the news broke that the all-conquering Horner was being moved out of the team he loved after a glorious 20-year run which delivered four consecutive drivers’ titles for both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull dominance started to wane in 2024 though with McLaren in particular beginning to make significant inroads into the gap to Verstappen at the front of the grid.

Red Bull dominance is over

That waning dominance has now completely evaporated in 2025, with the mighty Dutchman now a massive 68 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri and only third in the current standings.

The constructors’ standings tell a similarly miserable story for Red Bull, with the team only fourth - a jaw-dropping 293 points behind runaway leaders McLaren.

Those numbers, and the departure of key figures like design genius Adrian Newey, have left the Milton Keynes giant weakened and now heading the also rans behind the cars in papaya.

According to the team’s long-term senior advisor Dr Helmut Marko, it is through that prism which Horner’s dismissal should be viewed. He provided a football analogy to confirm why it had happened.

Marko on why Horner had to go

He told Kleine Zeitung that Horner’s position at the team was no longer tenable, explaining: "It develops in Formula 1 just like in football. If it doesn’t work, the coach has to go.”

Red Bull moved swiftly to replace Horner by bringing in Laurent Mekies from Racing Bulls, starting with this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Marko is optimistic the change will be a successful one.

He said: “The transition has gone very well. Laurent is a people person, he approaches people, and hopefully that will have a positive effect.”

Marko was at pains to point out that Mekies will not have the same wide-ranging role and control at Red Bull that Horner enjoyed after two decades in charge. Instead his focus will be very much on the racing.

“Mekies has already adjusted some details in the simulator preparation. In general, he’s focusing more on the racing and is less involved in other departments,” he revealed.

“It’s crucial that his responsibilities as team principal have been reduced compared to Horner.”

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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