Christian Horner predicted ‘outstanding’ Red Bull F1 driver would be a ‘star of the future’, he only scored 26 points

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Christian Horner’s sudden departure from Red Bull leaves a void that will take a while to fill, after 20 years in the team principal role.

He knew the outfit inside out and built their operation from the ground up. Now, for the first time ever, Red Bull has a new leadership.

Horner brought such stability and consistency to his team, and it’s a major reason why they were able to remain contenders for victory in almost every season over the last 15 years.

But with results on the decline ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations and rumours of a Max Verstappen departure, action has been taken by his superiors.

Just before his sacking, Horner was forced to give up one key role and was no longer allowed to have control of the team’s marketing. The Thai part of Red Bull took it from him.

Red Bull are now plotting a ‘sensational twist’ in a bid to keep hold of Verstappen in the future, and may let him name their team. Nothing like that has ever been seen in Formula 1.

READ MORE: Christian Horner ‘destined’ not to land F1 return that Lewis Hamilton would hate after Red Bull sacking

Christian Horner incorrectly predicted that Vitantonio Liuzzi would be a ‘star of the future’ in F1

While Horner could make a shock ‘unrealistic’ move now that he’s free from all of his obligations, he has time to make a decision. There’s no rush, and at the age of 51, he can afford for his next project to be a bigger one.

He has helped to produce two four-time champion talents, brought numerous titles to a team that was bought for £1 and has so much experience at a young age.

But he hasn’t got everything right over the last 20 years. In fact, one of his first predictions as team boss turned out to be quite wrong.

Back in 2005, he predicted that Vitantonio Liuzzi would be a superstar in the future, but he only went on to score two more points (26) than there are races per year (24) now.

“They are two young chargers, he told BBC Sport. “Christian [Klien] will benefit from a second year racing and Tonio [Liuzzi] was outstanding in Formula 3000. He is undoubtedly a star of the future. We are very happy with what we’ve got.”

READ MORE: Red Bull figure admits what the F1 team ‘obviously’ lose by replacing sacked Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies

How did Christian Horner end up at Red Bull in 2005?

Horner took over as boss of the Milton Keynes-based outfit from Tony Purnell in 2005, who had headed their operations when they were known as Jaguar.

The decision was made just eight weeks before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, giving him little time to adjust to his new surroundings.

But the experience he had gained from having his own racing team in the junior formulae (Arden International) went on to serve him well at the highest level.

As an example, look at Haas. After nearly 10 years, they still don’t have a podium. Horner led Red Bull to a win after four years (2009), and a title double in the following season.