Fresh details emerge on Red Bull’s call to dismiss Horner over summer

14:59, 21 Dec

Updated: 15:53, 21 Dec

byTobia Elia

Red Bull chief Oliver Mintzlaff has shed further light on the decision-making process that ultimately led to the dismissal of Christian Horner.

"We knew we had to do something. I am not a so-called hire and fire manager, someone who just fires people"

- Oliver Mintzlaff

Speaking in an interview with De Telegraaf, the Austrian explained that the decision was deemed necessary, while also acknowledging the outstanding work Horner had done over the past 20 years: "I don't want to call it a risk, because we were one hundred percent behind this measure.

"We knew we had to do something. I am not a so-called hire and fire manager, someone who just fires people. Christian has a great track record with the team and achieved a lot of success. Everyone here in the company, including myself, appreciates him for what he has done.

"But this is also part of a professional organization. You can't keep leaning on history and we felt it was time to turn the page and start a new chapter. That was not an easy decision, but we didn't take any chances either."

Christian Horner at the Austrian GP earlier this year - Photo: Race Pictures

Mintzlaff has no doubts about Verstappen leaving after 2026

Over the summer, alongside the Horner saga, there was also prolonged talk of a potential Verstappen move to Mercedes, with rumours continuing until Verstappen himself confirmed he would remain at Red Bull for next season.

His long-term future, however, will clearly also hinge on the strength of the RB22 project, with the Milton Keynes outfit set to produce its power unit in-house for the first time following the end of its partnership with Honda.

Here are Mintzlaff’s full comments on Verstappen.

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