Christian Horner subject of stinging ‘idiot’ verdict as Bernie Ecclestone speaks out

Bernie Ecclestone bluntly stated that his friend Christian Horner was an “idiot” in relation to the investigation against him for alleged inappropriate behaviour.

Failing to act his age in Ecclestone’s opinion – the former F1 supremo suggesting Horner “thought he was 20” – the investigation serves as a potential contributing factor behind Red Bull’s decision to release Horner with immediate effect a year-and-a-half later.

Christian Horner sacked: Right or wrong Red Bull call?

In early February 2024, Red Bull’s parent company Red Bull GmbH launched an internal investigation into Horner following allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a fellow employee, though Horner would be cleared after two investigations.

But on Tuesday night, Horner, who had served as the only team boss in Red Bull Racing’s history, was informed by the team that he would be released.

Red Bull then swiftly called Laurent Mekies up from Racing Bulls as the new Red Bull Racing CEO.

No reasoning has been provided publicly for Red Bull’s decision to sack Horner, but following the news, friendship between Ecclestone and Horner did not stop Ecclestone issuing a blunt verdict, relating to Horner’s involvement in an investigation which disrupted Red Bull ahead of the 2024 season, and potentially played a role in the end of his Red Bull tenure.

It has been a challenging 18 months for the Red Bull team more widely having seen their dominance of Formula 1 fade, a historic 2023 campaign which saw them win 21 of the 22 races, declining to a P3 finish in the 2024 Constructors’ standings, while the team sit P4 after 12 rounds of F1 2025.

Red Bull has also seen key figures such as Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley depart for rival teams, while star driver Max Verstappen is being linked with a move to Mercedes owing to a performance-related exit clause in his Red Bull contract.

In Ecclestone’s opinion, he believes the internal investigation into Horner did act as a disruption to the team.

“This other business that he got involved with 18 months ago, he was just an idiot,” Ecclestone said of Horner when speaking to The Telegraph.

“He was a 50-year-old who thought he was 20, thought he was one of the boys.”

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Red Bull won a total of 14 world championships with Horner at the helm, but during those rocky recent times, talk of a power struggle emerged within Red Bull following the passing of team founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.

Horner’s support from the Thai side of the ownership – Chalerm Yoovidhya understood to have been firmly in Horner’s corner through 2024 – reportedly faded recently, which could also have played a role in Horner’s exit, as could recent documented changes in the Red Bull ownership structure.

Ecclestone believes Horner’s influence had become too great for the liking of his Red Bull peers.

He said: “It would probably have been better if they had said, ‘Come in, Christian, sit down.’

“But, the bottom line is that there are people there who thought he was getting away with things, that he was acting as if it was not the Red Bull Ring, but the Christian Horner Ring. He got away with so many things.

“And all the time you’re delivering, people close their eyes. But when you stop delivering, people start looking. One or two begin thinking, ‘Well, I could do a better job.’”

Ecclestone added: “I know it was suggested to him he should be a team manager and leave the commercial side to somebody else.

“But his idea was, ‘I am the chief executive.’”

Whether Horner will return to Formula 1 remains to be seen, the rumour mill having linked him to Ferrari and Alpine ahead of his Red Bull exit.

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