Horner breaks silence on 'abrupt and brutal' Red Bull exit after 20 years

Christian Horner has publicly addressed his dismissal as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal for the first time since leaving the Milton Keynes outfit in July 2025, telling an audience in New York that the manner of his exit was “pretty abrupt and quite brutal” after two decades in the role.

Speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York — where he appeared alongside seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey, and General Motors’ Mark Reuss — Horner reflected on a departure that ended a tenure stretching back to the team’s formation. Laurent Mekies has since taken over as team principal.

Asked by CBS News anchor Errol Barnett whether the sacking had come as a surprise, Horner gave a measured answer. “Yes and no. I think the timing of it was pretty abrupt and quite brutal, but I felt that things were changing. Nothing stays the same forever,” he said.

Horner traced the roots of the shift to the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in late 2022, arguing that the group’s identity was inseparable from its creator. “After the founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, sadly passed at the end of ‘22, it was always going to be the case that the company was going to evolve and was going to change. And Dietrich, he was Red Bull. He was the power behind it. He made all the big decisions.”

He described a gradual erosion of the operational independence that had underpinned the team’s success. “There was a drive to bring more control back into the head office. And that sat differently from the autonomy that we’d enjoyed at Red Bull Racing and in Milton Keynes. So it was a different path that we were on, and you could feel that was changing.”

Horner was careful not to frame the restructure as a failure of judgement on either side. “It wasn’t that it was right or wrong. It was just different. Certainly, it was what had allowed us to achieve so much success over the years. So inevitably, it came to an end.”

During his 20-year tenure, Horner oversaw championship campaigns with Sebastian Vettel, who won four consecutive drivers’ titles between 2010 and 2013, and Max Verstappen, who has dominated the sport in recent seasons. He also worked with Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Mark Webber, among others.

The New York appearance marked Horner’s first public engagement in the United States since his departure from Oracle Red Bull Racing, and he indicated he remains open to future roles within the sport.