Jul.15 (GMM) A brief rumour that another option had emerged for the newly-sacked Christian Horner has been shot down.
Although the Formula 1 world is still in shock about Red Bull’s mid-season move, Germany’s Bild newspaper has the details about how the 51-year-old learned his fate.
“Horner’s Red Bull career ended in a luxury London hotel,” the report claims, with shareholders Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya delivering the news together with Dr Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff.
Mintzlaff, the new Red Bull CEO, was the “mastermind” of the operation, and “weighed the decision for weeks”.
The saga, however, began long before that, when Mateschitz’s father and Red Bull co-founder Dietrich died in October 2022. “Horner began taking over more and more of Mateschitz’s responsibilities,” Bild said.
Horner’s fate then appeared to have been sealed by July 2, when both Yoovidhya and Max Verstappen failed to turn up to his annual clay pigeon shooting event.
Verstappen withdrew with a stomach complaint, Bild claims.
The terms of Horner’s severance payment are currently being negotiated, but it is believed he is free to sign up with a rival team.
“There’s an open secret,” Ferrari insider Leo Turrini wrote in Quotidiano Nazionale. “Horner recently turned down two offers from Ferrari.
“Will there be a third?”
Corriere della Sera newspaper believes Ferrari is “no longer interested” in Horner, making a Flavio Briatore-Horner union at Alpine – possibly involving team shares – a more likely scenario.
Horner to Cadillac seems to be a possibility, but also briefly rumoured this week is that Audi could be interested in the Briton for its new works F1 project.
“Horner is not an option at Audi,” Bild newspaper insists. “The future of the long-time Red Bull team boss remains uncertain.”
What is clear is that Horner’s replacement at Red Bull is Laurent Mekies, the respected former Ferrari and FIA official who is internally promoted from the second team Racing Bulls.
The Frenchman will therefore oversee the last couple of in-season developments for the 2025 car at the forthcoming Belgian and Hungarian grands prix.
“We have to show Max (Verstappen) that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” team advisor Marko said.
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