Christian Horner's two big mistakes that caused Red Bull civil war revealed by F1 insider

Christian Horner

Christian Horner's two big mistakes that caused Red Bull civil war revealed by F1 insider

Christian Horner led Red Bull between 2005-2025

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 15 July 2026 08:58

Make us your Google favorite

A Red Bull insider has revealed that former team boss Christian Horner made two mistakes at the team, while also admitting that his relationship with Helmut Marko 'broke down'.

Horner was the team principal of Red Bull Racing between 2005-2025, claiming 14 world championships with the team in that time. Having taken over a brand new outfit in 2005, Horner turned them into a championship-winning team within six seasons.

He did that with the help of a number of Red Bull stalwarts, including Marko, Jonathan Wheatley and car design legend Adrian Newey, all of whom have left the team within the last couple of years.

Article continues under video

Horner himself departed the team in July 2025, being sacked for performance reasons with the team sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship.

But that was not after a final few seasons at the team in which there were plenty of stories of fallings out and tension between some of the senior figures at the team.

When Marko retired at the end of 2025, he slammed Horner and said that he had tried to 'take over' the Red Bull Racing outfit following the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, while Horner and Jos Verstappen's feud was aired in public.

Now, a Red Bull insider has suggested that Horner's inability to remain allies with the other senior figures at the team ultimately led to his downfall, while also claiming that Horner should not have made the mistake of trying to seize control of the team for himself.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen team 'deliberately leaked' photo as champion reveals clear the air talks

Horner-Marko relationship 'broke down'

Matt Majendie is an F1 journalist who spent a lot of time with the Red Bull team, with his experiences now being documented in a book titled Inside Red Bull Racing: A season with F1's most thrilling team.

"I'd say Helmut deserves great credit for Christian Horner, who was brilliant for the team," Majendie began in a conversation on the Road to Success podcast. "I actually really think, and together they were really close. But that relationship broke down.

"Horner was among those who were sort of trying to push Marko to the side that perhaps no longer he was needed in the team.

"There's lots of parts at play. You hear the Helmut Marko dynamic, the Jos Verstappen dynamic, but I think also you've got the dynamic of Austria, the Red Bull headquarters, the change in leadership there, and they wanted more of a say and an ownership of that team. So quite a few different facets that that played a part in Christian leaving.

"Horner was trying to sideline Marko, and also Horner wanted to take a bit of ownership in Red Bull. He pushed to [Red Bull founder] Mateschitz, for a stake in the team, and then before his death, and then afterwards.

"And Red Bull were very clear; it was going to stay Red Bull Racing. It was their ownership, but nothing else. So there was a lot of the power politics that went on behind the scenes.

"It's so difficult how these relationships break down. Power people are all under power and success and control and stuff, and everyone's pulling at different ways. So at some point, something has to give, and that's the way it fell apart.

"It's sad, really. And I'm sure they'll all reflect. They they all talk positively still about each other because of the success they had, but it's a shame that it ended on a sour note."

F1 Red Bull Christian Horner