Christian Horner was sent brutal message and warned of Red Bull axing by F1 rival

Christian Horner has been dismissed by Red Bull after 20 years at the helm, bringing a close to his lengthy and often controversial stint as team principal. The 51-year-old, who had been leading the team since its Formula 1 debut in 2005, came under intense scrutiny following a WhatsApp scandal that dominated headlines last year and amid Red Bull's underwhelming performance in the early stages of the 2025 season.

Back in February, Horner was the subject of an internal inquiry over claims of misconduct involving a female team member. Although an independent solicitor ultimately found no wrongdoing, the situation escalated once more when purported messages from the team principal were leaked to the media.

Speculation around his position has been persistent, and his exit marks a major turning point both for the Red Bull outfit and for Horner personally. Reactions in the F1 paddock are expected to be varied, though McLaren CEO Zak Brown – a long-time adversary of Horner's – is unlikely to shed any tears.

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Earlier this year, Brown acknowledged that their dynamic was accurately portrayed in Netflix's Drive to Survive series. "There's no love lost there," the American told The Telegraph. "I don't like how he rolls and no doubt he feels the same about me.

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"But I think it's good for the sport. You need different characters. You need these rivalries. Some are friendly, sporting rivalries. Some are a bit more vicious. It's always been like that." Brown also insisted just a few months back in March that Horner should be feeling 'vulnerable' in his position, following the team's struggles, his texting scandal and him being booed at an F1 launch event.

“If I went to the F1 launch and I wasn’t welcomed (Horner was booed), and I came back to the table and I am sitting next to the CMO of our sponsors’ OKX and Mastercard, that is not a great look," he said.

“You have got the Red Bull GmbH managing director (Oliver Mintzlaff) sitting there. And then you have got the Verstappens who don’t seem to have a great relationship (with Horner), from the outside looking in.

“(Technical director) Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall (who joined McLaren from Red Bull as chief designer) and (sporting director) Jonathan Wheatley have all left and if I was in that position, I would feel vulnerable.

“When I go and meet my board, I would not be feeling great because they would be going, ‘Well, why did he leave? Why did he leave? And why did he leave? Oh, and by the way, you didn’t seem to get a very warm welcome at the launch’. I don’t know how they feel. But I would feel vulnerable.”

Laurent Mekies will become Red Bull's team principal after being elevated from the sister team Racing Bulls. The 48-year-old Frenchman has been with the organisation since early 2024, previously serving as Ferrari's racing director.

During Horner's leadership, Red Bull captured six Constructors' Championships. Their drivers also secured eight world titles, with Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel each winning four.

"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years," Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s chief executive of corporate projects and investments, said in a statement. "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."

Horner's exit coincides with growing uncertainty over Verstappen's future. The 27-year-old Dutch driver remains under contract with Red Bull through 2028, but has looked increasingly unsettled amid ongoing speculation linking him with Mercedes.

Verstappen is aiming to equal Michael Schumacher's record of five consecutive championships this season, yet he's been unable to match the pace of McLaren stars Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Last year, Norris nearly caught him in the standings, as Verstappen managed only two wins in the second half of the campaign.

The 2025 season has followed a similar pattern, with the defending champion collecting just two victories so far. McLaren, by contrast, have dominated proceedings, with Piastri and Norris sharing nine wins out of 12 races.

The performance disparity is evident in the Constructors' standings. Red Bull sit in fourth place, trailing Zak Brown's McLaren squad by a staggering 250 points – making McLaren clear favourites to retain their team title.

Verstappen's recent struggles have mirrored the turbulence within the Red Bull line-up. Liam Lawson, initially brought in to take Sergio Perez's place alongside Verstappen, was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after a shaky start. But Tsunoda has also underperformed, and speculation is swirling that Red Bull might turn to rising star Arvid Lindblad as a potential replacement.

If either Piastri or Norris – currently tied at the top of the drivers' standings – clinch the championship, it would be McLaren's first drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton's triumph in 2008. Ahead of last weekend's British Grand Prix, Brown emphasised he wanted both of his drivers to "race each other hard", but also to "race for the team".

"We have such a great relationship with both drivers," he told the BBC. "They're high quality individuals who want to do the right thing, want to race in the right way, just want to be treated fairly and equally, which is exactly what we do.

"It's great the way they go racing... we talk about strategy, and that strategy is: 'What's the best result for McLaren?' And then how do we set the drivers up to let them decide on the track... it's great. That's all they want."

He added: "Let the best driver win."