British media make brutal 'failure' remarks after Horner sacked by Red Bull

14:52, 09 Jul

byToby Nixon

The British media have published surprised reactions to Christian Horner's sudden dismissal from Red Bull Racing, with some even abelling him as a 'failure' in 2025.

After 20 years at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based team, it was announced on Wednesday morning that Christian Horner has been relieved of his duties.

The British media have since reacted to the breaking news, expressing their opinion on his exit.

Horner thought he was 'untouchable'

The Daily Mail has stated that Horner has been brought down to earth by his Red Bull sacking.

"You can see why the man felt so untouchable, despite the rank underperformance this season of the Red Bull Racing team he has been running.

"It’s not much more than a year since hundreds of WhatsApp messages, sent by him to a female member of staff, many of a sexual nature, dropped like kryptonite on F1 and were brushed off as a mild inconvenience.

"But it turns out Red Bull were not willing to tolerate another afternoon of failure on the Silverstone track."

Will Horner's exit affect Verstappen?

The BBC focused on Red Bull's star driver Max Verstappen, wondering whether or not Horner's exit would affect the four-time world champion.

"Horner's dismissal comes amid uncertainty about the future of star driver Verstappen, 27. The four-time world champion is under contract to Red Bull until 2028 but is being courted by Mercedes to potentially join them for next season.

"Red Bull have won only two races this season, with McLaren taking over their position as the team to beat."

"Their decline began in the middle of last season; while Verstappen won his fourth straight world title, he won only twice in the final 14 races."

Max Verstappen finished fifth at the British Grand Prix

Horner seemed to have 'weathered the storm' before sacking

The Guardian looked at the power struggle within Red Bull, recapping the tumultuous events which have led to Horner's sacking on Wednesday. Although it seemed as if the Brit had 'weathered the storm', he was still let go in a rather shocking manner.

"However, during the investigation into Horner’s behaviour, it was understood there had been a power struggle between Horner and the parent company, Red Bull GMBH, with Jos Verstappen, the father of the world champion, Max, openly calling for him to be removed.

"Horner appeared to have weathered that storm and attended Silverstone at the weekend and the paddock did not expect his sacking to take place."

Reactions flood in after Horner's sacking

Horner was formally relieved of his duties on Wednesday morning by Red Bull GmbH’s senior management. It was also announced that Laurent Mekies, previously team principal of sister outfit Racing Bulls, will succeed Horner as CEO of Red Bull Racing.

Alan Permane will step into Mekies’ former role as team boss at Racing Bulls.

Max Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, has since responded to Horner’s dismissal. Meanwhile, speculation is mounting online, with fans and pundits sharing theories about Verstappen’s future, particularly whether a move to Mercedes could now be on the cards.

Horner had led Red Bull Racing since 2005 and played a key role in building the team into a dominant force in Formula 1, overseeing multiple world championships with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

However, internal tensions and underwhelming results in 2024 once again placed him under pressure.