A week after Christian Horner’s dismissal as team principal at Red Bull, more details continue to emerge about his forced departure. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is said to have played a key role in the Brit’s dismissal. Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff reportedly considered firing Horner as early as the Austrian Grand Prix.
After twenty years of loyal service, Christian Horner suddenly experienced his last day of work as team principal of Red Bull last week. The Brit’s dismissal came as a ‘shock’ to him, as he told in his farewell speech to the employees of the Austrian racing stable. However, not everyone at Red Bull was surprised by Horner’s departure. German newspaper BILD reports that Oliver Mintzlaff, director of Red Bull Austria, had been considering firing the Brit for weeks.
Mintzlaff reportedly even had a meeting with shareholders Chalerm Yoovidhya and Mark Mateschitz about a possible departure of Horner during the Grand Prix weekend in Austria, Red Bull’s home race. Advisor Helmut Marko is also said to have been present. The Monday before Horner’s dismissal, the top brass met again, this time via Zoom. Mintzlaff reportedly announced his intention to fire Horner, and received permission from Yoovidhya and Mateschitz.
Mekies
Horner was informed that his time at Red Bull was over the following Tuesday, by Marko and Mintzlaff in a hotel in London. Earlier, Horner, according to the same BILD report, had already relinquished his managerial role over the marketing department at the insistence of shareholder Yoovidhya. The former British team principal of Red Bull has already been succeeded by Laurent Mekies. The Frenchman started work immediately during a filming day of the Austrian racing stable at Silverstone last week.
