Christian Horner 'Red Bull takeover' plan revealed

Former Red Bull F1 motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has made a stunning accusation about former team principal Christian Horner.

Marko has recently left the motorsport outfit, retiring from his role after 20 years in the job, but he has insisted that his decision to leave was not down to 'pressure' from above.

Horner, meanwhile, was axed from his role as team principal back in July, and it means that two figures who had been with the team since their inception into the sport in 2005 have left in the space of six months.

Together, Marko and Horner helped the team claim six constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships through drivers who had been scouted by Marko, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

It was understood that there were tensions between Marko and Horner towards the end of their time at the team, and now Marko has come out and issued a bombshell interview with De Telegraaf, in which Horner was a big topic of conversation.

Marko discussed where the power at the F1 team came from, and how Horner allegedly tried to change that following the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.

"Together with Didi [Mateschitz], I founded Red Bull Racing in 2005," Marko said. "We appointed Horner as team principal, and I was there as an overseer.

"The power was always essentially in Austria; we were the ones calling the shots. I remember a party in 2022 before the Austrian Grand Prix. Didi was there, but not in good health. Christian came to me and said, 'He won't make it to the end of the year.'

"From that moment on, he started getting friendly with Chalerm Yoovidhya. When Didi passed away later that year, he did everything he could to take over with Yoovidhya's support. I did everything I could on behalf of 'Austria' to prevent that."

Chalerm Yoovidhya is the co-owner of the wider Red Bull GmbH brand, and the Thai businessman was believed to be close with Horner during his time at Red Bull.

Marko and Horner depart

While Marko's interview isn't going to do much to eradicate rumours of infighting at Red Bull during the latter years of the Horner era, Red Bull fans will likely be very glad to be turning the page and moving into a new era.

Horner has been replaced as team principal by Laurent Mekies who, so far at least, just seems to be concerned with on-track matters and extracting as much from the team and car as possible.

Vettel has been linked with Marko's role, meanwhile, which would add a much fresher feel to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

However, reports in German media have suggested that Red Bull will not refill Marko's position, and that the role of motorsport advisor will remain vacant for the time being.

Either way, it feels like a new era for Red Bull in which they are heading into the regulations reset in 2026 with fresh thinking on board, as well as a new power unit partnership with Ford as they seek to supply themselves with power units moving forward.

READ MORE: Sky Sports F1 star reveals Helmut Marko called him a 'trained monkey'

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