Fired Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner horses around in first free weekend

Red Bull raced at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, without Christian Horner for the first time in the team's 20-year history.

The team stunned the F1 world by sacking the long-standing team principle in the three-week gap between races amid growing pressure to improve the team's performance.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton issues frank response as F1 legend quizzed on Christian Horner axe

Horner was replaced by Racing Bulls chief Laurent Mekies, and was absent from the F1 paddock at Spa for the first time since 2005.

The 51-year-old has been quiet on social media since releasing a statement on his F1 exit, but Horner re-emerged on his platform to share his activities during the Belgian GP weekend.

Instead of tucking himself up on the sofa with a mug of cocoa to watch the race at Spa, Horner chose action and was pictured astride his horse trotting along the country lanes of England.

Horner did not ignore the Belgian GP altogether, injecting his post with a touch of humour and a pun that read: “Different horse power this Sunday (winky face)."

Horner ditches F1 paddock for the stables

Horner and his wife – former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – love horses, with their very own stables a huge feature of their Oxfordshire mansion.

Halliwell and Horner also have a penchant for naming their horses after Geri’s solo career singles, with their equine companions sporting names such as ‘Lift Me Up’, ‘Mi Chico Latino’ and ‘Look at Me’, as well as a nod to the time she covered the Weathergirls' classic 'It's Raining Men’.

The couple’s horses also compete professionally in horse racing events, from Cheltenham to Warwick Racecourse, emerging victorious at the latter in January this year.

Horner and Halliwell’s Oxfordshire home features a 14-horse stable alongside two foaling stalls, and speaking to The Telegraph the former Red Bull boss revealed where their love for horses came from.

"I love it. A bit of escapism, away from the madness of F1,” he said.

“We don't really know what we're doing but it's exciting. It's something Geri and I both get a kick out of and something we enjoy as a family.”

READ MORE: F1 champion Max Verstappen reveals unfulfilled racing dream

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