Christian Horner is out as CEO and team principal at Red Bull Racing’s Formula One Team, ending a dazzling 20-year run that included several championships – and an unlikely turn as a Netflix star on “Drive to Survive.”
The gritty, cool-headed team boss won eight drivers’ titles and six constructors championships in the world’s most prestigious racing series with Red Bull. He was also an indisputable main character on “Drive to Survive,” the sports docudrama – now with seven seasons in the books – that launched in 2019 and brought F1 to unprecedented popularity in the United States.
Red Bull announced the firing on Wednesday, appointing Laurent Mekies as the new CEO. Mekies had been leading a resurgent Racing Bulls, the Red Bull team’s sister organization.
Still at Red Bull: Max Verstappen, the mercurial four-time F1 champion whose future at the team is also in doubt, as he sits in third place just before the series’ halfway point behind McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Rumors have swirled for weeks that Verstappen is being pursued by Mercedes’ team principal – and other “Drive to Survive” favorite – Toto Wolff.
Adding to the drama: Verstappen, whose Red Bull contract runs through 2028, has an exit clause if the team falls below third in the constructors’ standings. Red Bull currently sits in fourth, as his rotation of teammates (currently Yuki Tsunoda) have not fared as well as the defending champion.
The 51-year-old Horner, whose wife is former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, became an equal celebrity after his friendly-but-fierce rivalry with Wolff helped accelerate “Drive to Survive” to mega-hit status on Netflix in the U.S. and elsewhere. His firing comes with five years remaining on his contract.
“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,” Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said in a statement Wednesday. “With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”
In early 2024, Red Bull initiated an internal inquiry following allegations by a female team member of sexual harassment. Horner was cleared after an independent review, Horner denied wrongdoing and Red Bull did not connect the firing to the misconduct claims.
