Christian Horner SACKED: The diva, the cunning fox and Geri Halliwell’s chilling prediction

Geri Halliwell-Horner and husband Christian Horner in F1 Bahrain paddock 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Drive to Survive

Christian Horner SACKED: The diva, the cunning fox and Geri’s chilling prediction

It's a gripping tale with all of the behind-the-scenes machinations made public

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Thursday 26 February 2026 12:55

The F1 demise of Red Bull chief Christian Horner has played out in glorious HD on Season 8 of ‘Drive to Survive’ - how everything unravelled and how Geri Halliwell saw it all coming. And we have all the details.

In a few short hours (Friday February 27) fans around the world will get the chance to binge the latest chapter in the story of this hit Netflix show. And as ever there are some popcorn moments.

Horner’s exit from the sport - via a brutal sacking in July 2025 - was always going to have top billing this year, and so it proved.

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If you want a recommendation, head straight for Episode 4 - beautifully titled ‘The Bull With No Horns’.

It’s 37 minutes of scripted agony for 52-year-old Horner, from the early-season sacking of new driver Liam Lawson to the disaster in Austria which eventually proved to be the final straw.

The show goes deep on all of the behind-the-scenes machinations as Horner’s position becomes more precarious by the day. Before the axe stunningly falls the day after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

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Liam Lawson fired, it started with a miss

Bad things started to happen almost immediately for Horner and Red Bull in 2025, with Lawson being fired and relegated back to Racing Bulls after just two races.

DtS had plenty of time to work out how they wanted to deliver this storyline, from the New Zealander’s pain at his dismissal to his renaissance and 6th place in Austria as replacement Yuki Tsunoda trailed home last.

It could not have been more brutal for Horner - the guy you fired is doing just great now. The guy you hired to replace him, is absolutely not.

’The diva’ won’t play ball, and Verstappen struggles

It wasn’t just about the team and Horner in 2025, it was also about the car for Red Bull. A troublesome beast which just would not do what Max Verstappen wanted.

By the time the summer break arrived the four-time world champion was more than 100 points off the pace, and any dreams of retaining the title were all but gone.

It’s agony in HD for Horner as he describes the car as ‘a diva’, admitting it just refuses to do what the team wants it to do.

’The cunning fox’, enter Marko

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko is always a central character in any Red Bull story, cutting a fascinating figure as DtS ramps up the pressure on Horner.

We see him admitting that he is worried and fearing Verstappen COULD leave the team, before Horner delivers a telling response when told the 82-year-old Austrian is now doing media interviews.

“Helmut, he’s a cunning old fox. He will use the media to assert pressure. Sometimes it’s very helpful.”

The dad (Jos)

The other central characters in this epic storyline of course are the Verstappens - superstar driver Max and his father Jos.

We see Max batting away questions about his Red Bull future, and Horner admitting that there IS an exit clause which will determine whether he stays with the team.

We also see Toto Wolff admitting he HAS been talking to team Verstappen, and there is ‘always a chance’ that he could be at Mercedes next season.

Horner speaks honestly to Jos about his desire not to let McLaren win either of the championships in 2025, to which Jos replies “That would be a big disappointment”.

An Austrian disaster, and how the axe fell

The Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull’s home race - proves to be the final straw. It is the ultimate embarrassment, one from which Horner will never recover.

Verstappen is out of the race within seconds after a collision with Kimi Antonelli, while Tsunoda comes home last of the 16 finishers after a Red Bull Ring disasterclass. Meanwhile Lawson, the driver Red Bull scorned, grabs a terrific sixth.

Surely this cannot go on, and Horner takes up the story:

“After the Austrian Grand Prix we turned up at Silverstone where Max finished on pole but ended up finishing fifth.

“Twenty-four hours later, I was contacted to attend a meeting in London and that was where they informed me that operationally I was no longer from that moment onwards involved in the running of the Red Bull Formula 1 team.”

Geri saw it coming

Watching the Horners at home on their Northamptonshire estate after his sacking just rams home the sadness and loss felt by the former team principal. It’s something he openly admits.

“I feel a real sense of loss and hurt. It was all rather sudden. I didn’t really get the chance to say a proper goodbye.

“I never imagined to be in this position. Of course your immediate reaction when you’re delivered a s*** sandwich like that is to say ‘f*** them’. I had something taken away from me which wasn’t my choice which was very precious to me.”

Horner then turns to his Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell, and says: “You thought it was gonna happen. When we came back from that Austria race, I remember you sat on the bed one night and said ‘something really bad’s gonna happen'.”

Geri responds: “Said they were gonna fire you.”

F1, like showbusiness, is the most brutal of pursuits. And the pop star absolutely saw it coming.

So who does Horner blame?

While the Verstappens clearly hold significant power at Red Bull - no surprise given Max is the team’s greatest asset - Horner does not blame them for his exit.

"His father has never been my biggest fan," said Horner.

"He’s been outspoken about me. But I don’t believe the Verstappens were responsible in any way."

So why does Horner believe he was sacked? And who does he think made the decision? He does have a theory about both of those questions:

"I think this was a decision made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut Marko advising from the sideline.

“I think ultimately things changed within the business, within the group. The founder died, and after Dietrich [Mateschitz]’s death, I was probably deemed to have maybe too much control.”

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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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Helmut Marko Yuki Tsunoda