Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t ‘understand’ one thing Red Bull have said after sacking Christian Horner

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Christian Horner said an emotional goodbye to the Red Bull factory this Wednesday after being sacked from his position as their team principal after 20 years in charge.

The Briton had steered the ship in Milton Keynes ever since Red Bull debuted on the grid in 2005 after the Austrian energy drinks company bought the struggling Jaguar outfit off Ford. Horner also turned Red Bull into one of the most dominant crews seen in Formula 1 history.

Red Bull won six constructors’ titles under Horner’s watch, as well as topping the F1 drivers’ championship eight times with Sebastian Vettel plus Max Verstappen taking four titles each. Just Ferrari (15), McLaren (12) and Mercedes (9) have won more drivers’ titles than Red Bull.

But the axe has now fallen on the 51-year-old’s tenure, with Red Bull set to see both titles go elsewhere in 2025. Red Bull already trail reigning constructors’ champions McLaren by 288 points after 12 rounds and Verstappen is 69 points off Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ standings.

Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t ‘understand’ why Red Bull sacked Christian Horner with immediate effect

Red Bull have promoted Racing Bulls chief Laurent Mekies to replace Horner as their new F1 CEO. The move came as a surprise to the Briton, as Horner has told Martin Brundle that Red Bull sacked him without giving a reason why he has been kicked out after 20 years in charge.

The fact that Red Bull have sacked Horner with immediate effect also caught ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone by surprise. He cannot understand why Red Bull felt the need to make the move halfway through the 2025 F1 season, unless ‘something very serious’ has taken place.

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Ecclestone told RacingNews365: “It must be something very serious, in my opinion. I spoke to him [on Monday] and he didn’t know. Well, he might have known, but he didn’t tell me. It was a normal conversation. We were talking about Max. Nothing to do with this…

“All I know is the message the whole world has got, which is [that] he’s been fired, effective immediately. It’s the effective immediately I don’t understand. Why would they ask him to leave with immediate effect? It’s like he’s murdered somebody.

“You can understand, if you’re going to fire somebody, then you’d have a chat before and you’d come out with something like, ‘We’ve agreed to part company’, or something.

“But to come out and say, ‘You’re fired with immediate effect’, he must have done something a bit drastic for that to happen.

“Let’s assume they were unhappy with the results, which I can understand, that’s one thing. But to be fired immediately? That’s a different thing altogether.”

Red Bull will hope sacking Christian Horner ends their turmoil and keeps Max Verstappen

Horner’s exit speech prompted tears from the Red Bull factory this Wednesday as the Briton said his emotional goodbye to the team he moulded from backfield minnows into multiple-time world champions. Verstappen has thanked Horner for ‘everything’ since his firing, too.

Red Bull will now hope that sacking Horner has cut the head off the snake and that it marks the start of a new chapter in Milton Keynes under Mekies’ watch. As well as their declining results since winning all but one of the 22 Grands Prix in 2023, Red Bull have faced turmoil.

Horner has now lost the fight for power the 51-year-old had been engaged in for more than a year with Red Bull GmbH motorsport adviser Helmut Marko. The tension in the team also led to Adrian Newey resigning, soon followed by the departure of Jonathan Wheatley, last term.

But Verstappen’s manager is clear that Horner’s sacking will not stop him from considering leaving Red Bull, with the four-time defending champion said to be in talks with Mercedes. The 27-year-old has a contract for Red Bull through 2028, but it includes many exit clauses.