Christian Horner: Verstappen camp ‘not responsible’ for Red Bull exit
christian horner has publicly denied that Max Verstappen or his father Jos had any hand in his departure from Red Bull, speaking for the first time about his sacking in the latest season of Drive to Survive. The comments matter because they come amid a wider account from Horner that pins his ousting on internal power struggles and long-running tensions inside the Red Bull group.
Drive to Survive Season 8 and Horner's first extended comments
Drive to Survive Season 8, released on Feb. 27 and launching with eight episodes on Friday ahead of the 2026 season getting under way in Australia, contains Horner's first on-camera account of his exit. He told the cameras he felt a "real sense of loss and hurt" and that "it was all rather sudden. I didn't really get the chance to say a proper goodbye. " He also described his immediate reaction to being dismissed as angry and deeply shaken, saying he had "had something taken away from me that wasn't my choice that was very precious to me. "
Christian Horner on Verstappen camp and the sacking
Horner, who is 52 years old, insisted that Max Verstappen and his camp were "not responsible" for his exit. He said, "[Max Verstappen's] father has never been my biggest fan. He's been outspoken about me, but I don't believe that the Verstappens were responsible in any way. " The claim responds to public suggestions that the Verstappen camp had played a role in his dismissal and to comments by Jos Verstappen that Horner was "driving people apart" before his departure.
Success with Red Bull and the timing of his departure
Horner joined Red Bull in 2005 and led the team to eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championship titles. Under his stewardship Max Verstappen won four successive drivers' titles from 2021 to 2024. Despite that on-track success, Horner was sacked in July last year, a shock move that became one of the biggest stories of the 2025 season.
Allegations, investigations and the payout
Horner's dismissal followed a controversial 18-month period that began when a female employee accused him of sexual harassment and the allegation was made public in February 2024. He was cleared twice: first after an internal investigation conducted by a lawyer, then when another lawyer dismissed the complainant's appeal. The Briton left Red Bull with a £52m payout and said he felt he had not been allowed to say a proper goodbye.
Power struggle inside Red Bull and key figures
Horner has placed his exit in the context of a power struggle inside Red Bull after the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022. He said that "ultimately things changed within the business, within the group, " and suggested he may have been seen as having "maybe too much control". He described the decision as one made by Oliver Mintzlaff "with Helmut advising from the side-line, " and has said he blamed Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko for his departure.
The ownership split inside the wider Red Bull group was part of the picture, Horner says: he retained the favour of the Thai family who own 51% of the company, while the Austrian side, overseen by Dietrich Mateschitz's son Mark and which controls the other 49%, had grown frustrated by the power Horner wielded as CEO of the race team. Helmut Marko, long a trusted motorsport adviser to Dietrich Mateschitz who worked closely with Horner for many years, also fell out with Horner and was himself ousted by Red Bull just months later at the end of the 2025 season.
Rivalries in the paddock and a private message from Toto Wolff
Horner's time in the pit lane included a public rivalry with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, with the pair regularly exchanging sharp words in the media. That tension was at its peak when Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 drivers' title. Despite their media feuding, Horner revealed that Wolff sent him a touching message after Horner's dismissal.
