The Red Bull team bid farewell to team boss Christian Horner on Wednesday. After a period of administrative turmoil and a disappointing first half of the season, the company’s top brass lost confidence in the 51-year-old Brit. Horner was instrumental in the formation of the Austrian racing stable in 2005 and achieved significant successes with the team over two decades. Under his leadership, a total of fourteen titles were won and 124 Grand Prix victories were secured. It’s time to look back on Christian Horner’s twenty years at Red Bull.
The Arrival of Max Verstappen
In 2006, a young Christian Horner took the helm of Red Bull’s new Formula 1 team. At 31, he was the youngest team boss on the grid.
Red Bull celebrated its first Formula 1 victory in 2009. Drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel secured a one-two finish for the Austrian racing team, with Christian Horner joining them on the podium.
It wasn’t long before Sebastian Vettel claimed his first title with Red Bull. In 2010, the German driver initiated a four-year period of dominance, during which the team also secured the constructors’ championship four times.
From 2014, Red Bull had to concede superiority to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. The celebrated British driver won numerous Grand Prix for the Silberpfeile, while Red Bull and Christian Horner struggled with their Renault engines.
With Daniel Ricciardo and a young Max Verstappen, Red Bull struck gold again in 2016. The Dutch driver won his very first Grand Prix for the Austrians on his debut in Barcelona. It marked the beginning of a long and successful collaboration.
In 2021, a new era of dominance begins for Red Bull, largely thanks to Max Verstappen. After a grueling title fight with Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman wins his very first world championship in 2021. He later secures two more constructors’ championships for Red Bull and Christian Horner (Red Bull Content Pool)
At the start of 2024, Christian Horner comes under fire after a female Red Bull employee accuses him of inappropriate behavior. As the team’s competitiveness wanes, critics call for the team boss’s dismissal. Horner, who was later acquitted of all allegations, could count on the support of his wife, Geri Halliwell, during the media storm (Getty Images)
With a fourth place in the constructors’ championship and a significant gap to McLaren, the Red Bull leadership loses confidence in Christian Horner. After the British Grand Prix, the 51-year-old Brit, twenty years after his debut as team boss, is abruptly dismissed (Red Bull Content Pool)
