Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, fired mid-season

After a 20-year stint at Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner has been fired from the role of team principal and CEO. Horner’s contract ran until 2030, but the team has cut his time short, replacing him with Laurent Mekies, who was working as the team principal at sister team, Racing Bulls, before the call-up to Red Bull.  

The shift has been on the radar since February of 2024, when allegations of ‘inappropriate, controlling behaviour’ came out from a female colleague of Horner. Though messages were leaked onto the internet of their conversations, the FIA cleared him of all allegations after a brief investigation. This did have a domino effect on the team, however, as soon after this the head of engineering, Adrian Newey, departed and looked for work elsewhere. The team went from dominating the standings to struggling for points. They won the 2023 constructors’ championship with 860 points (451 points ahead of Mercedes in second place), and then only came in P3 last season. Red Bull decided to fire Horner due to these ongoing struggles, which put the Milton Keynes based team only fourth in this season's standings.  

Red Bull has been the team to beat for years, winning six constructors’ championships throughout Christian Horner’s 20-year stint. Drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have claimed the title in the Red Bull rocket ship and the team has bathed in champagne. In a statement released by the team, they have thanked him for ‘his tireless and exceptional work’ which has helped lead them to this glory. However, it is a new era at Red Bull as Laurent Mekies is put in place to fill Horner’s shoes and take them back to the top of the standings where they have been for so long.