Brundle: I suspect Horner overplayed his hand

Horner was fired from his role as Red Bull Racing boss just days after the 2025 British Grand Prix, with Laurent Mekies replacing him and making his debut with the team at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

After buying the struggling Jaguar F1 outfit at the end of 2004, the late Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz handed the reins of the Milton Keynes-based team to a young Horner who was 31 years old, making him the youngest ever F1 team boss.

From there, Horner went on to build an F1 powerhouse as Red Bull Racing secured eight F1 Drivers' Championships as well as six Constructors' Titles.

But ever since the death of Mateschitz back in 2022, Horner's position within Red Bull Racing was not the same, with the new management unwilling to keep him in control as he was before, and then the situation began to unravel back in 2024 with the sexting scandal.

Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the damage was already done as Red Bull Racing emerged from that ordeal a scarred team, with major team figures—Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley are a couple of examples—abandoning ship in the aftermath of a civil war that saw Jos Verstappen, father of the team's star driver, Max, calling Horner out and asking for his dismissal.

After a dismal start to the current F1 season, Horner had finally been shown the door, and last weekend at Spa was the first time the sport has really felt the reality of that when he was absent from the Red Bull Racing pit wall for the first time in 20 years.

In his post-race column on Sky Sports F1, Brundle reflected on Horner's dismissal; he wrote: "After 20 years at the helm Christian Horner no longer runs Red Bull and that immediacy was a shock to most, including him.

"Christian has done a stellar job in building the team to where it is today, ensuring two dominant championship phases and a stat sheet which is indisputable.

"When Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull company boss and co-owner, died in 2022, this left a significant vacuum, and like all vacuums it's been filled by others with ambition, alternative ideas, and egos," Brundle pointed out.

"Dietrich was universally respected and admired, he had a bold vision and presence, he enabled people and then delegated, seemingly always happy to be in the background.

"His hallmark was on every Red Bull F1 decision, the majority of which he wouldn't even know about, but everything was wrapped in 'what would Didi want/think'.

"The management he structured when he knew his health condition was terminal subsequently wanted significant control, as reportedly did Porsche when a partnership was on the cards around that time."

Brundle went on: "Christian wanted full control of what he felt he'd created, and in the best interests of the team in a fast-moving highly specialised business.

"I rather suspect he overplayed his hand, and once the support of the 51 per cent shareholders Yoovidhya family fell away in the bigger picture, Red Bull Austria HQ parked Christian at the first opportunity.

"Given other events which have played out since Bahrain last year, especially regarding Max's uniquely powerful and vociferous father Jos Verstappen, it was game over.

"I'd be pretty sure Christian will be back sooner than later, this time with some ownership and control," the Briton predicted.

But he claimed that letting Horner go was approved by the Verstappens, both Max and Jos; the former's future is still in question beyond this season, as there were rumors he could trigger a performance clause to get out of his contract while being linked to the likes of Mercedes and Aston Martin.

Brundle wrote: "Max will go into the summer break in third place in the championship and so any team performance contract exit clause falls away, but Red Bull wouldn't have played the Christian card without team Verstappen being fully onboard anyway.

"Formula 1 is an extreme business which attracts extreme people. Thank goodness," the veteran of 158 grands prix concluded.