Christian Horner SACKED by Red Bull F1 after 20 years as replacement immediately named

Christian Horner has been removed from his positions as chief executive and team principal of Red Bull Racing. A formal announcement is expected this morning, though the Red Bull parent company has confirmed the news in a statement.

"Christian Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years as team principal," it read. The company also confirmed: "Laurent Mekies has been promoted from Racing Bulls to replace him as CEO." The Frenchman was team principal at Red Bull's junior team, having joined from Ferrari.

"The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter [Bayer, Racing Bulls CEO]," said Mekies. "It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people.

"The spirit of the whole team is incredible, and I strongly believe that this is just the beginning. Alan is the perfect man to take over now and continue our path. He knows the team inside out and has always been an important pillar of our early successes."

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It has also been confirmed that Alan Permane has been promoted from his role as sporting director of Racing Bulls to become team principal at the junior team. He said: "I feel very honoured to take on the role as team principal and would like to thank Oliver [Mintzlaff] and Helmut [Marko] for the trust they have shown in me.

"I am looking forward to working with Peter to continue the good work that both him and Laurent have done in taking this team forward. This is a new challenge for me, but I know that I can count on the support of everyone within them."

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Horner has been the team's only leader since it first arrived in Formula 1 back in 2005. The Red Bull energy drinks company purchased the struggling Jaguar F1 team in November 2004 and Horner was recruited to help turn it into a force on the grid. Was Red Bull right to sack Christian Horner? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

Red Bull won their first F1 title in 2010, the first of four consecutive drivers' championships with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013. They later repeated the trick between 2021 and 2024, with Max Verstappen dominating the grid.

But the team has lacked competitiveness this year. Red Bull Racing are languishing in fourth place in the constructors' championship 38 points behind third-placed Mercedes and a whopping 288 adrift of runaway leaders McLaren.

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