Christian Horner Sacked as Red Bull Racing CEO

Like all other sports, F1 is no stranger to shocking changes in management. Red Bull Racing, which currently competes as Oracle Red Bull Racing, has recently experienced a significant shake-up. Earlier in July, its CEO and Team Principal, Christian Horner, was sacked, with Laurent Mekies taking over.

Even though changes can be hard on the people directly affected by them, they nonetheless help to make sports more exciting and interesting. Whenever a competitor or a key figure behind the scenes is replaced, it can have a great effect on betting odds. People who follow sports and place bets at sportsbooks, including HotBet, keep up with the latest news. They bear recent updates in mind when making decisions about their bets, which is a good strategy to use.

The Announcement

The news of Christian Horner’s sacking was announced on the official Formula 1 website on 9 July. He was in charge of Red Bull Racing when it competed in its first F1 event back in 2005 and has been the leader for 20 years. In this time, he helped to establish the team as a major competitor. The team has won Constructors’ Championship 30% of the time and the Drivers’ Championship 40% of the team; its overall win rate is 30.5%.

In the announcement, a spokesperson from Red Bull said that Horner had been released from his duties with immediate effect. Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments, said the following: “We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years. 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.”

Potential Reasons for the Sacking

The announcement didn’t confirm the exact reason behind Horner’s departure, however it’s safe to assume that various recent events have contributed to his exit. Throughout the most recent season, there have been a number of resignations (Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, and Rob Marshall), and the team’s performance has experienced something of a downturn. Also, there have been reports of tension amongst team members.

It’s believed by some that Horner could have been dismissed in order for Red Bulls Racing to keep hold of Max Verstappen. While Verstappen’s contract doesn’t run out until 2028, there are performance-related exit clauses that could see him leave earlier than this. The Dutch-Belgian racing driver has enjoyed a considerable amount of success throughout his career. Some of his Formula One records include most podium finishes in a season (21), most wins in a season (19), and most consecutive wins (10).

While Verstappen and Horner have always had a solid, professional relationship, the same can’t be said for Versatappen’s father, to whom Verstappen is incredibly loyal. He was involved in a feud with Horner in early 2024 and called for Horner to resign. The fact that Verstappen has been in talks with Mercedes has also contributed to the rumors of Horner being sacked to satisfy the Verstappens.

Then there were allegations of inappropriate behaviour, which could have been what convinced the higher-ups to let go of Horner. It was confirmed in February 2024 that Horner was being accused of acting inappropriately towards a female colleague. He was cleared of the accusations that same month and was thus able to stay in his role with Red Bull Racing.

The Future of Red Bull Racing

With the 2025 Formula One World Championship still ongoing, it will be interesting to see whether Red Bull Racing’s results improve or not. Laurent Mekies, who is only the second CEO in the history of Red Bulls Racing, has said he wants to meet as many people as possible in his first few weeks and reestablish Red Bull Racing as the top Formula One team.

Before taking over from Horner as Red Bull Racing CEO and Team Principal, Laurent Mekies was the Team Principal of Racing Bulls S.p.A. This is the sister team to Red Bull Racing, as both are owned by Red Bull GmbH, and it races under the name Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team.