F1 2026: Christian Horner reveals truth behind brutal Red Bull driver sacking

Horner in Red Bull kit looking down at his phone — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Christian Horner reveals truth behind brutal Red Bull driver sacking

Horner is setting the record straight about his time at Red Bull

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 26 February 2026 19:53

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Former Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has broken his silence on a controversial driver swap that took place under his watch in the new Season 8 of Drive to Survive.

The popular Netflix docuseries is set to return on the streaming platform this Friday, February 27, with the eighth edition of the behind-the-scenes show offering viewers the inside scoop on some of the biggest dramas that unfolded across the F1 2025 championship.

A lot of last season's dramatic storylines came from within the Red Bull garage, with the shocking announcement that Horner had been sacked as team principal coming last July, followed by Helmut Marko's exit at the end of the season in December.

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But before the leadership reshuffle, Horner oversaw one final mid-season driver swap (although to call it a 'mid-season' swap certainly doesn't convey the brutality of the decision).

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Verstappen did not agree with hasty F1 team-mate switch

After just two rounds of the 2025 campaign, Red Bull junior Liam Lawson was plucked from his seat alongside Max Verstappen after two point-less grand prix outings and demoted back down to Racing Bulls.

Horner and Co. promoted Yuki Tsunoda to swap places with Lawson in a move that ultimately went on to benefit the Kiwi racer given that Tsunoda now finds himself without a full-time seat, whilst Lawson has clung onto his position at the junior F1 outfit.

Regardless of how the decision has panned out for Lawson, many within the paddock felt the decision was particularly harsh at the time, whilst others voiced that Lawson was never ready to fill Sergio Perez's shoes in the first place.

In the upcoming season of Drive to Survive, Horner has set the record straight on the role that he played in Lawson’s demotion however, insisting: "It wasn't my choice."

"I was always pushed to take drivers from the Young Driver Programme. Helmut was a big driver in it," admitting that Marko was the one pulling the strings where Red Bull's driver decisions were concerned.

Lawson also revealed that his former team-mate Verstappen told him he did not agree with the decision.

F1 Christian Horner Liam Lawson Drive to Survive