Red Bull F1 announce Christian Horner FIRED in shock departure

christian horner, red bull, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

Red Bull announce Christian Horner FIRED in shock F1 departure

Christian Horner will be leaving his role at Red Bull

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

Wednesday 9 July 2025 12:30 Updated: 14:57

Red Bull Racing have announced the shock exit of CEO and team principal Christian Horner.

Horner has been at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based outfit since they entered the sport in 2005 following their purchase of Jaguar, but his spell in charge has now come to an end after 20 and a half seasons.

“Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today (Wednesday 9 July 2025) and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing,” said a Red Bull spokesperson, via the official F1 website.

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Under Horner's leadership, Red Bull have achieved great success considering their short history in the sport, with a total of eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships secured.

However, neither of those tallies looks likely to be added to this season, with Max Verstappen currently third in the drivers' standings, and Red Bull floundering in fourth position in the constructors', 288 points behind leaders McLaren.

"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.

"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history."

Another Red Bull exit

Although this time around the team have made the decision, Horner is the third senior figure to exit Red Bull in the space of a year.

Last season, it was announced that former technical chief Adrian Newey would be departing the team, for example, and months later, the same happened with sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.

Newey is now at rivals Aston Martin, whilst Wheatley is running things at Sauber ahead of their transition into the Audi works team for 2026.

Whilst those exits were damaging, and Horner's exit will no doubt have a big impact, the worst of them all could still be yet to come, with four-time world champion Verstappen having been heavily linked with a move away from the team in recent weeks.

Mercedes are rumored to be in talks with the Dutchman, who, whilst contracted to the team until 2028, is reported to have exit clauses in his contract relating to performance.

Ahead of a major aerodynamic and engine regulation change at the end of the season, all of the above hardly feels like ideal timing, and it will certainly be interesting to see how Red Bull do moving forward.

NASCAR Max Verstappen Formula 1 McLaren Christian Horner