Christian Horner officially terminated by Red Bull

Red Bull Racing, as well as Red Bull Powertrains and Red Bull Technology, have now officially terminated the appointment of Christian Horner.

Christian Horner’s role as a director at Red Bull Racing was officially terminated yesterday, 13 August.

As confirmed by Companies House – which is the United Kingdom registrar of companies and is responsible for incorporating and dissolving limited entities, and maintaining a public register of company information – the 51-year-old tenure with the six-time F1 constructors’ champions is now over, following the Briton being relieved of his duties as team principal on 9 July, only days after the 2025 British Grand Prix.

With Horner initially moved to other projects within the company, away from the glare of the public spotlight and its associated scutiny, it was only realistically a matter of time before the two parties reached a settlement and he exited the stage.

Having been at the helm of the Milton Keynes squad since it entered F1 in 2005, after it purchased the Jaguar team from Ford, Horner was the only boss the outfit had known until Laurent Mekies succeeded him.

However, despite the two eras of success Red Bull enjoyed with Sebastian Vettel and later Max Verstappen, as well as its sustained competitiveness in the period between, Horner’s reign had become besieged by scandal, declining performance and internal power struggles.

From the start of the 2024 season, when Horner was investigated for now-dismissed allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards an employee, there was a sense that it was only ever heading to this point.

Although Verstappen won the F1 drivers’ title last year, internal unrest and instability saw the team fall from its perch, slipping to third in the constructors’ standings after back-to-back championships – the latter of which was the most dominant campaign in F1 history.

Alongside the news of Horner’s exit becoming official, it was confirmed that Red Bull Racing had appointed Stefan Salzer as a director on 8 July, the day Horner was made aware of his firing and the day prior to it becoming public.

The appointment of Salzer, coinciding with Horner’s removal, underlines the growing influence of the Austrian contingent at Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Powertrains, and Red Bull Technology.

Horner was appointed a director at Red Bull Racing in March 2007 and was the only active director other than Helmut Marko, with Salzer now taking the former’s place.