Horner sacked by Red Bull

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How do we feel about Horner being sacked by Red Bull and more importantly, what does it mean for Max Verstappen?

Surely a powerplay by Max, leveraging possible interest from Mercedes to get what he wants? He (and his father) haven’t been happy since the Horner scandal started and with a sub-standard car and no Adrian Newey building the next one, Red Bull isn’t as appealing as it once was.

The big winners? Netflix.

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It’s hard to keep up with Red Bull’s erratic decisions, but my money is on Max and his father, Jos, demanding the change. I find Christian Horner grating, but there’s no denying his success. I wonder how the instability will affect Red Bull’s plans for 2026, when a new generation of cars will be introduced.

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You can’t deny Horner’s success, few team bosses oversee two eras of dominance like he did.

Red Bull have made a bit of a mess of it. Backing Horner initially cost them Newey (at least in part) and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, and now they’ve ended up firing Horner anyway.

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I agree…Max has not been happy with his performance and especially the car. I think it was Max/Jos or Horner who had to go.

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No doubt reigning world champions McLaren will be enjoying this🍿 Especially after ending Red Bull’s two-season reign as world champs last year.
Horner’s replacement Laurent Mekies will be expected to hit the ground running.

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Things are very clearly crumbling behind the scenes, which is a shame. But if there ever was a time to break it all down and rebuild to come back stronger, its now: the 2026 regulation changes are going to bring real shakeups, and Red Bull is not in contention for either 2025 championship.
I would say now is the time to put heads down - but that is going to be difficult with so many key figures (Dietrich Mateschitz, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall, Adrian Newey and now Christian Horner) gone.

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Ive heard two theories:

  1. the Verstappens said its Max or Horner, and Red Bull chose Max.
  2. Max has already jumped ship and Horner is being punished for his failure to retain him and Newey (and others!)
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I think this is a sentiment Mercedes will share with McLaren, too. Toto Wolff and Horner have notoriously clashed for years, and those Red Bull vs. Mercedes wounds run deep…

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A solid twenty years of rebuilding and taking a failing Jaguar team to the powerhouse Red Bull is today. Disappointing that 17 months ago, when Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague, nothing happened… what straw broke this camel’s back?