Helmut Marko claims not sacking Christian Horner sooner cost Max Verstappen F1 title

Dr. Helmut Marko talking with Christian Horner during testing — Photo: © IMAGO

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Helmut Marko claims not sacking Christian Horner sooner cost Max Verstappen F1 title

Max Verstappen lost out on the title by two points

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 14 December 2025 16:27

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Former Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko has said that Max Verstappen would have been world champion in 2025 had Christian Horner been sacked earlier.

Horner was axed from his role as team principal back in July, with the team at that stage sat in fourth in the constructors' championship.

Verstappen - chasing a record-equalling fifth world championship title - had fallen well behind the McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as he struggled with his RB21's inconsistencies.

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However, following the sacking of Horner and the incoming arrival of Laurent Mekies, Verstappen was able to go on a stunning run of results, and he ended up finishing just two points behind eventual champion Norris.

Red Bull's form completely turned around, and Verstappen looked a threat for the grand prix victory at every race between September-December.

Now Marko, who recently left his role as motorsport advisor, retiring after 20 years in the job, has said that Verstappen would have won the drivers' championship if Horner was replaced by Mekies sooner.

"We had to do something because our on-track performance was lagging," Marko told De Telegraaf.

"Had we done that sooner, by the way, we would have gotten things back on track faster this year, and Max would have become world champion. I'm absolutely convinced of that.

"But those last years with Horner weren't pleasant. Dirty tricks were played. Do you remember me saying, back in the Sergio Perez era, that Mexicans are less focused than the Dutch or Germans? That was fabricated, perhaps even by them.

"Just like I supposedly said in 2024 that our engine development was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as our sponsor. I never said that, but Horner wanted to use that to get me suspended. Because Max stepped up to the plate in Jeddah, it didn't happen."

Will Horner return to F1?

Horner won eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships with Red Bull, all of which were won alongside Marko, with the pair working together since Red Bull's inception into the sport back in 2005.

There have been plenty of rumours regarding a return to F1 for Horner, although these comments from Marko may just cause teams to think twice before hiring somebody who could become a divisive force within an outfit.

Alpine emerged as a likely contender for the 51-year-old’s signature almost immediately after he was axed from Red Bull, with the French outfit currently lacking a full-time team principal.

Meanwhile, Horner has reportedly been calling various F1 teams to discuss a potential return to the sport, with Haas another option for the Brit in terms of his team ownership ambitions.

Current team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed that an initial conversation with Horner had taken place, but that discussions had not gone any further.