Christian Horner's extraordinary Red Bull sacrifice revealed: 'It can't have been healthy'

Christian Horner

Christian Horner's extraordinary Red Bull sacrifice revealed: 'It can't have been healthy'

Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull last year after 20 years in the job

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 14 July 2026 08:58

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A former F1 journalist who followed Red Bull closely has revealed the extent of the burden which Christian Horner carried during his time at Red Bull.

Horner was team principal and CEO of the Milton Keynes-based outfit between 2005-2025, and won 14 world championships in that time, including eight drivers' titles with stars such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

But the rapid ascension to the top of the sport for the energy drink giants meant that there was always a lot of scrutiny on the team and the way in which they conducted themselves in F1.

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Red Bull was and remains a very political outfit behind the scenes, and Horner fell out with a number of key figures during the last few years of his tenure, including Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko.

Horner was also dealing with accusations of alleged inappropriate behaviour in 2024, levelled at him by a female employee of Red Bull. Horner strongly denied any wrongdoing and was cleared of the allegations after an investigation.

Eventually, his time as Red Bull team boss ended in July 2025, when he was axed for performance reasons, with Red Bull sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship.

Now, former F1 journalist Matt Majendie has revealed quite how much Horner cared about the team, and the amount of pressure that was placed on him as the leader of the team.

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Horner's ability to absorb pressure

"It's remarkable how Christian had the amazing ability to never knowingly be stressed in all this stuff," Majendie told the Road to Success podcast. "I remember the cost cap thing was happening. There was great pressure on there, and then the stuff in the 2024 season as well.

"For the most part, actually looking like it was ok, like you know he could fight this battle and he would survive, and he was a great survivor in that regard.

"What is astonishing, I think, about him is he took the pressure for everybody. So he would take the flak for a Max Verstappen who'd done something on track or other misdemeanour by the team.

"He was the one, and he was happy to take all that. I have no idea how he did it, because he's just taking that onboard. It can't be healthy, but he seemed to be always okay with it.

"On top of that, he ends up being a bit combative at times with it, which I like personally. But how he copes with that level of stress and being in charge of that number of people and all the dynamic and the politics, both within the team and externally, it's amazing."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner