Christian Horner has spoken candidly about his dismissal from Red Bull in the latest season of Drive to Survive. The Englishman was removed from his role as team principal and CEO shortly after the 2025 British Grand Prix. The decision followed a run of disappointing results, after which Racing Bulls team boss Laurent Mekies was pushed up as his replacement. Horner had been at the helm of Red Bull for more than twenty years and secured as many as fourteen world championships with the team.
In an exclusive interview for the Netflix series, Horner explains how he heard the news. “After the Austrian Grand Prix we arrived at Silverstone. Max (Verstappen, ed.) qualified on pole position, but ultimately finished fifth,” Horner begins for the Drive to Survive cameras. “Twenty-four hours later I was summoned to a meeting in London. That’s where I was told that I would no longer be involved in the running of the Formula 1 team with immediate effect.”
‘Stuff it’
The announcement hit the Brit hard, and he has largely stayed out of the spotlight since. “I feel a huge loss and I’m hurt,” he admits bluntly. “It all came quite suddenly and I didn’t really get the chance to say a proper goodbye. I never imagined I’d find myself in this position. Your first reaction when you get a message like that is, of course: ‘Stuff it.’ Something was taken from me without me having any say in it; something that was, frankly, very dear to me.”
Looking back on his final months at Red Bull, he remains critical of himself. “I’ve always done my best. I did everything I could for my team and for the people I represented, but my performances weren’t as strong as before.” Behind the scenes Horner is already working on a comeback. Reportedly he not only wants to return as team principal but also to take a stake in a team. Flavio Briatore recently revealed that the Brit is interested in the minority stake investor group Otro Capital holds in Alpine. Nothing has been decided on that yet.
