Max Verstappen had a ‘final standoff’ with Red Bull’s CEO before Christian Horner was kicked out of the team

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Red Bull have sacked F1 team principal Christian Horner, who was in charge for 20 years. The seismic move comes with Max Verstappen’s F1 title hopes floundering.

Verstappen’s fifth-place finish in Sunday’s British Grand Prix has seen him fall 69 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. He has won the last four world championships under Horner’s leadership, but Red Bull have been in decline for over a year.

Since Verstappen won the Spanish GP on 23 June 2024, he’s only taken four victories from 26 races. In the same period, Red Bull’s second drivers – Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda – have combined for just 48 points.

Red Bull’s longtime designer, the legendary Adrian Newey, resigned from his post last year, while sporting director Jonathan Wheatley also left. The team have had no answer to McLaren’s surge despite a series of upgrades.

Max Verstappen instrumental in Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit

Recent reports have claimed that Verstappen was pushing for Horner to be replaced. At the very least, he wanted the 51-year-old’s power to be diluted.

But during the British Grand Prix weekend, Horner refused to entertain a restructure at Red Bull. And that may have been instrumental in his demise.

According to Motorsport Italy, Verstappen and Horner have never ‘definitely resolved’ the internal disagreements that emerged last year. And it all came to a head behind the scenes.

Verstappen was involved in a ‘final standoff’ with Red Bull’s CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, who ultimately agreed to fire the team boss. F1-Insider add that his camp had been ‘increasingly demanding’ the move as an emphatic response to the team’s struggles.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner are enemies – but this is a major blow to Mercedes

The crucial context here, of course, is that Verstappen has been negotiating with Mercedes over a potential Red Bull exit. But this could well change the landscape.

There was a suggestion that Verstappen was using his Mercedes talks as leverage. And that now appears to have some substance.

Indeed, Motorsport Italy say the distinct ‘possibility’ of the 27-year-old joining the Silver Arrows prompted Mintzlaff to act. Red Bull effectively chose Verstappen over Horner.

And F1-Insider say that this is an ‘important signal’ to Verstappen that the team will do ‘everything they can’ to keep him happy. Thus, while Horner’s relationship with Wolff has been strained, this looks like a significant blow to the Mercedes boss.