Red Bull wanted to fire Christian Horner 18 months into his stint with the team, reveals former boss
Christian Horner joined Red Bull on January 7, 2005, and went on to lead the team for two decades before he was fired in 2025. The former Red Bull boss recently came out and detailed how the Milton Keynes-based outfit were set to fire him just 18 months after his joining.
Red Bull purchased Jaguar after the 2004 F1 season, and Christian Horner was signed as the Team Principal. At the same time, Guenther Steiner joined as the Technical Director for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Speaking with David Coulthard on the Up to Speed podcast, the two discussed how Red Bull wanted to fire Horner just 18 months into his stint with the team. Horner recently released his autobiography, and the same was detailed in it.
Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard, who was driving for the team when it started, detailed how he came to know about the same in a meeting. Coulthard explained how he and Adrian Newey were keen on keeping Christian Horner at the team.
But it was just after Horner had been informed of the same that David Coulthard got Red Bull’s first podium at the 2006 Monaco GP. Recalling the same, Horner said,
“They gave me a letter before the Monaco race saying my contract wasn’t going to be renewed. So thank god you got that podium. So yeah, I mean literally going into that weekend I was told your services are unlikely to be required at the end of the year. So it was a very volatile period in the team and you know you constantly sort of felt that you were having to look over your shoulder.”
With Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, and Christian Horner, Red Bull went on to become one of the most successful F1 teams of the last two decades.
Christian Horner claims Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen’s camp blocked Fernando Alonso’s move to Red Bull in 2025
With Sergio Perez leaving Red Bull after the 2024 season, the team needed a driver to partner Max Verstappen. Christian Horner, in his autobiography, detailed that he wanted to sign Fernando Alonso or Charles Leclerc. However, Helmut Marko and Verstappen’s camp stopped the move.
“During the Japanese GP, Fernando even told me he was really looking forward to racing alongside Max the following season,” said Horner.
“I knew right away that order didn’t come from Max. Someone, somewhere, decided it wasn’t the right move for Red Bull. It disappointed me,” he added.
Red Bull promoted Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls to partner Max Verstappen for the 2025 season. However l, he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda just after a couple of races.
Read More: Christian Horner reveals Adrian Newey warned about leaving Red Bull if the Porsche partnership went through
