By James Broughton, July 10, 2025
The British F1 media is reeling after Red Bull’s shock sacking of Christian Horner. The coverage has taken on an almost mournful tone—but the real question is: why now, and not a year ago, when Horner was embroiled in allegations of harassment against a female colleague?
At the end of the day, Horner was an employee of Red Bull. The fallout from the allegations lingered, leaving behind a trail of tension and mistrust. In the process, Horner made enemies—people who saw his personal conduct not just as controversial, but as a liability.
Christian Horner had long enjoyed the full backing of Red Bull’s majority shareholder and Thai co-founder, Chalerm Yoovidhya. However, it appears that Yoovidhya recently sold shares, reducing his holding to equal equity—he now owns 50% of Red Bull, meaning he no longer holds veto power.
With the board now able to act independently, they moved swiftly—and decisively—to remove Horner. That’s why his departure felt so sudden and unexpected.
But let’s not feel too sorry for Christian Horner. He had a remarkable 20-year run, rising from rundown factory buildings to overseeing the creation of state-of-the-art F1 facilities. His track record speaks for itself.
And there’s another reason not to pity him—Formula 1 rewarded him handsomely, making him a multimillionaire many times over. Still, for Horner, the money likely isn’t the point. It’s the journey, the memories, and the record-breaking run of success that matter more. That said, give it a month—when he sits down with his accountant, he probably won’t be quite so sentimental.
So, what’s next for Horner?
He might walk away from the sport entirely. But there are already whispers that Ferrari is interested in hiring him. Could Horner be the missing link to help Ferrari rediscover its technical focus? Possibly. Then again, Ferrari has a well-documented habit of favouring its “Team Italia” culture—pride before a fall, as the saying goes.
Either way, Horner won’t be short on options. He might leave the relentless pace of F1 behind and start his own venture—perhaps a tech business using AI algorithms to improve engineering efficiency. The end of his Red Bull era doesn’t mean the end of the road.
Ironically, it seems Horner became the executioner of his own tenure. And in the end, the empire he helped build showed him the door.