Christian Horner 'On Verge of Being Sacked by Red Bull'

Christian Horner's time as team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing could be ending very soon if fresh reports from Austria are to be believed.

From the moment that Red Bull made their debut F1 appearance as its own team in 2005, Horner has been their only team boss from that day onwards, and has been one of the key factors in their eventual success, with six Constructors' Championships and eight Drivers' Championships to date, backing junior talents such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, and turning them into legends of the sport.

However, Horner's reign as the longest-serving team principal on the grid could be coming to a close after the very next race of the 2025 season, in Imola, as reports from Austrian media outlet, oe24, have claimed.

Red Bull Woes Put Pressure on Christian Horner

It's been a tough start to the 2025 season & it could cost Horner his job

Close

This year has not gone to plan so far for the energy drink giants, as they have been convincingly outpaced so far by rivals McLaren, and would likely be in a much deeper hole in both championships if not for the mercurial talents of Verstappen, who has managed to score numerous pole positions and a victory in Japan despite it looking improbable on all occasions.

The RB21 has been the subject of many complaints from its drivers for both its lack of performance and being very difficult to drive, to the point that even Verstappen can't make up the difference enough to properly challenge for victory over full race distance.

Related Win a Signed Bastian Schweinsteiger Shirt with Market Madness We're giving away a Manchester United and Germany National Team shirt signed by football legend Bastian Schweinsteiger

In addition to the continuous debacle over the second Red Bull seat, where Liam Lawson was dropped back into the sister team after only two races for Yuki Tsunoda, and concerns over Verstappen's long-term future, it has been a mess of a start that could spell the end of Horner's time as the lead figure of the team.

Christian Horner's Controversies Spark Tension

Off-track incidents have raised eyebrows

For all the success he's had, Horner has had his fair share of criticism and controversy during his time in F1, especially in recent years as Red Bull became the dominant force of the early 2020s. The team's Verstappen-led titles came to be despite repetitive rumours of tension behind the scenes between Horner and other lead figures such as advisor Helmut Marko. The tension seemed to hit a peak when Horner was accused of 'coercive, inappropriate text messages' by an employee, though, an investigation ruled out any wrongdoing.

2025 Constructors' Championship top 5 (as of 12/05/25) Position Team Points 1. McLaren 246 2. Mercedes 141 3. Red Bull 105 4. Ferrari 94 5. Williams 37

Horner has had backing from the Thai-backed majority owner of Red Bull, but there are concerns that he might be in danger if the team's performance does not improve soon.

Potential Replacements For Christian Horner

Two names have already been touted

The oe24 report also put down two names as potential replacements for Horner, if he is to be dropped from his position. The first name is Franz Tost, a familiar name in the Red Bull circle, as he was the long-time team principal of the sister team, Racing Bulls (Toro Rosso or Alpha Tauri), for almost as long as Horner was at Red Bull. The Austrian held the position in the secondary squad from their first season in 2006, until he departed from the role in 2023.

The second name discussed in the reports is more relevant to recent news in the F1 circle, which is the recently departed team principal of Alpine, Oliver Oakes. It was only last week that the French outfit was the topic of all F1 news, with Oakes' resignation from his role after less than a year catching everyone off-guard.

Red Bull are currently third in the Constructors' Championship on 105 points, behind McLaren and Mercedes, and already 141 points off the top. Verstappen is third with 99 points, 32 adrift of leader Oscar Piastri, while Tsunoda has only scored six points since making the switch to the main team in Japan, four rounds ago.

Click here to read article