Hidde Korte is an editor at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 news. With a background in journalism and a strong passion for the sport, he delivers timely and reliable coverage of the pinnacle of motorsport.
Christian Horner had to get used to watching Formula 1 after being dismissed by Red Bull Racing. While he was glued to the TV in the aftermath of his dismissal, things are different nowadays.
On the High Performance podcast, Horner reflects on his time after being dismissed by Red Bull Racing. The Briton was let go by the Austrian outfit in July 2025 and replaced by Laurent Mekies. The first race after that was the Belgian Grand Prix, and it was a strange experience.
Afterward, Horner had more time for his family, something he hadn't had before. "The dogs went on a lot of walks. And look, I think you just, it's like a decompression. Bit by bit, you get chance for reflection.
"Watching the first race, I attended 404 races in a row, I never missed a Grand Prix, I've spend every race at a Grand Prix track since Red Bull's entry into the sport."
As a Formula 1 team principal, he missed many important moments with his family. "I missed my daughters' birthday, or milestones. Or our honeymoon was the Monaco Grand Prix. So I've made so many sacrifices in that respect."
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Verstappen wins Sprint at Spa-Francorchamps
The first race after Horner's dismissal was the Belgian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen immediately won the Sprint race that weekend. During the races, Horner no longer had access to the information available to him as team principal.
"Then you're sitting down and you're watching a race for the first time. You think, s***, you've got no information. You're relying on Crofty and whoever's a commentator, which was unnatural to me because I'm used to looking at screens and a feed and not hearing commentators. And suddenly, you're trying to get on a Formula One app and see the splits."
Horner had a hard time adjusting after his dismissal from Red Bull and watched Verstappen win the Sprint in Spa. Photo: Red Bull content pool
Horner was still in touch with people at the circuit that weekend, though. "But compared to the epicenter of sitting on a pit wall where you've got everything coming at you, that was like, 'wow, this is this is so different.' And that first weekend, I watched every practice session, every Formula 2, Formula 3 race. I was just glued to the to the TV, and, you know, Max won the sprint in Spa. And, you know, I was having so many texts from the circuit saying nobody's celebrating."
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Horner had to adjust to life after Red Bull
Seeing 'his' team and sponsors without having any influence over them was a strange experience. "It felt odd, because they were your people and your team. They were the sponsors you had brought in and secured those positions for.
"That just felt weird because they're your guys, it's your team, it's the sponsors that you've negotiated to be in those positions. So that was a different experience. But with time, it passed to the point that I turned the TV on just before the start of the race, and as soon as the podium was done, I'm walking the dogs," he concluded.
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