Christian Horner turning point identified after Red Bull masterplan ‘backfired’
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes the death of Dietrich Mateschitz was a key turning point in Christian Horner’s stewardship of the Red Bull team.
Red Bull announced last week that Horner has been ‘released’ from his duties after more than 20 years, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies stepping up as his successor.
Christian Horner leaves Red Bull after more than two decades in chargeChristian Horner’s departure marked the end of one of the most successful eras in F1 history. The 51-year-old oversaw a total of 124 race wins, six Constructors’ titles and eight Drivers’ championships shared between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Red Bull was left devastated by the death of co-founder Mateschitz in October 2022, with son Mark inheriting his 49 per cent ownership of parent company Red Bull GmbH.
That period also saw Oliver Mintzlaff installed as CEO of corporate projects and new investments of Red Bull GmbH.
Go deeper: Christian Horner’s shock Red Bull exit👉 Why Christian Horner? Why now? Shock exit may not guarantee Max Verstappen
👉 Ranked: Is Christian Horner sack the biggest shock in F1 history?
Appearing on the Formula1.de YouTube channel, former Williams, Jordan and Toyota driver Schumacher has claimed that the death of Mateschitz was a significant moment in Horner’s time in charge at Red Bull.
Schumacher said: “I think the death of Dietrich Mateschitz has somehow changed everything.
“He [Horner] suddenly had a lot more power and, in my opinion, behaved differently than in previous years.
“And that has now backfired.”
Schumacher’s latest comments come after he claimed that Horner was involved in a furious row with Verstappen’s father, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, during the British Grand Prix earlier this month.
The rain-affected race at Silverstone marked a significant blow in Verstappen’s hopes of retaining his title, with the four-time World Champion now trailing McLaren driver and F1 2025 championship leader Oscar Piastri by 69 points.
Schumacher claimed that Horner and Verstappen Sr had a “heated” argument involving Red Bull group director of communications Paul Smith, who has since been placed on gardening leave by Red Bull along with chief marketing officer Oliver Smith.
He told the Backstage Pitlane podcast: “There was another argument or a heated exchange, at least visually and verbally, between Jos Verstappen, Christian Horner and the press officer.
“You could see that Jos was anything but happy with the situation.”
Schumacher went on to describe Horner as “a bit of a difficult person”, claiming that the 51-year-old did not take kindly to criticism to the extent that he no longer dealt with his Sky Germany television crew on F1 race weekends.
He added: “For me, Christian Horner is also a bit of a difficult person.
“I have to say that. He just failed to keep the team together well, which is not always easy, of course.
“But I also think his behaviour now – and I can only say for myself – but he can’t really deal with criticism.
“We [Sky Germany] are – or I am now – on a so-called black list, so he no longer talks to us or with me and such.
“It’s actually a joke because a man who has won so much should actually be able to discuss it in front of the camera.”
More on Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing from PlanetF1.comVerstappen Sr was a vocal critic of Horner over the course of the final 18 months of his tenure, famously calling for the team principal to resign in the aftermath of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Rumours ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend claimed that the Verstappen camp was actively pushing for Horner to be replaced or for his power to be significantly diminished.
When asked by media including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone, Verstappen himself simply said: “I don’t know anything about that.”
However, Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle, who is known to have a close relationship with Horner, argued that Verstappen’s entourage was influential in Red Bull’s decision to make a change.
Brundle said: “What’s absolutely clear is that the Verstappen camp have been lobbing in hand grenades for quite some months now.
“Some of them have gone off and it’s been pretty relentless in that respect.
“I think, at times, Max’s dad, Jos, has made it absolutely clear that he thinks Christian shouldn’t be leading the company and leading the team.
“So I would say, yes, they played a key role in Christian’s exit.
“Unless you’re behind closed doors then you don’t know for certain.
“But there are certain things I do know – and certain things I have seen and heard – that makes me think they were pretty involved in this decision.”
Read next: Max Verstappen to Mercedes gets ‘green light’ as new ‘biggest obstacle’ emerges – report
planetf1.com
