Christian Horner Red Bull F1 exit comes after three key things changed

The timing of Christian Horner's Red Bull exit caught the Formula 1 world by surprise. But the team had been in turmoil behind the scenes for close to 18 months and something had to give, because powerful forces have been trying to oust Horner since the leaked messages scandal which emerged last February.

Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague, which he denied. Red Bull chiefs in Austria surprised the race team by launching an investigation, including hiring an external KC who interviewed him for hours and later cleared him of wrongdoing.

But his opponents smelled blood, despite the team's domination on track. "The higher you rise, the sharper the knives," Horner told Netflix cameras for their popular Drive to Survive docu-drama. And those knives were out. Among the sharpest was in the grasp of star driver Max Verstappen's father Jos.

At the height of last year's scandal, he called for Horner's head and claimed the team would be "torn apart" if he wasn't replaced. But Horner held onto power, helped by the team's on-track performance which remained strong, and Verstappen would make it four titles in a row by the end of the year.

Sign up to our free weekly F1 newsletter, Pit Lane Chronicle, by entering your email address below so that every new edition lands straight in your inbox!

He also had the crucial support of Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai majority owner of the main Red Bull company, who resisted pressure from chiefs in Austria to make a change. Company founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who hired Horner when Red Bull bought into F1 in late-2004, died in October 2022.

His son Mark, who inherited his fortune, is not such a big fan of the Brit, while former RB Leipzig chief Oliver Mintzlaff, now CEO of all the company's sporting projects, is believed to have disliked how much power Horner wielded. Red Bull have so far made no public comment on the reasons behind Horner's exit.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen breaks silence after Christian Horner sacked by Red Bull in F1 bombshell

READ MORE: Christian Horner breaks down in tears as he admits 'shock' at Red Bull exit

But it is clear that three major things have changed, all of which have contributed to the 51-year-old's downfall. Firstly, Red Bull are no longer winning. They are fourth in the championship, already 288 points behind runaway leaders McLaren.

Verstappen is third in the drivers' standings but 69 points behind Oscar Piastri, and highly unlikely to add to turn four consecutive titles into five. And their second seat situation remains a mess, with Yuki Tsunoda floundering after Liam Lawson was replaced just two races into the season. Verstappen has scored all but seven of their 172 points so far in 2025.

Secondly, the increased speculation suggesting their star driver could quit for rivals Mercedes. It's understood Verstappen plans to stick with Red Bull next year but, still, rumours of his potential exit have persisted – some believe fuelled by his father. It seems Red Bull chiefs weren't willing to risk losing the man Helmut Marko last week called their "greatest asset".

But it remains to be seen whether Horner's exit will be enough to appease those in Verstappen's camp who have been applying the pressure.

Finally, and most pertinently, Yoovidhya's support for Horner seems to have finally wavered. His family owns 51 percent of Red Bull, so his say would have been final. Speaking to staff at Red Bull's Milton Keynes factory on Wednesday, Horner said the news of his exit had come as a "shock". He wasn't expecting to lose the Thai owner's support.

And so a reign older than two current F1 drivers – Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli were both born after Horner's appointment – has come to its end. But even before he left Red Bull, the likes of Ferrari and Alpine showed interest in trying to lure him away. So whether it's the end of Christian Horner in F1 depends entirely on whether he has the desire to do it all again.