Marko reveals Horner's dirty games & how he cost Verstappen fifth title

Marko and Horner led Red Bull Racing from its inception after the late Dietrich Mateschitz took over the failed Jaguar Formula 1 operation at the end of 2004 and started Red Bull Racing, which competed for the first time in the 2005 season.

It was always perceived that Horner managed the day-to-day operations while Marko handled the politics in addition to the Red Bull junior driver program.

However, following the death of Mateschitz in October of 2022, Horner ramped up his involvement, and while matters remained in check for some time, the sexting scandal, which blew up ahead of the 2024 season and of which he was cleared, spelled the beginning of the end both for Horner and Red Bull Racing as we have come to know it.

Despite the massive success Horner delivered before his dismissal, it appeared that his scandal and the game of politics he played and lost were not enough to keep him in his seat, especially in light of the bad performance of the team in 2025.

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Marko, who announced his retirement days after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—some say he was fired—was asked about the conflict behind the scenes at Red Bull.

He said: “That’s how it’s always been described in the media, but it was nothing personal.

“Together with Didi [Dietrich Mateschitz], I founded Red Bull Racing in 2005. We appointed Horner as team principal, and I was there as a supervisor. In principle, the power was always in Austria—we made the decisions.”

He went on pointing out how and when things began to change; he added: "I remember a party earlier that year [2022], ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix; Didi was there but not in good health.

"Christian came up to me and said, 'He won't make it to the end of the year’. From that moment on, Christian began cozying up to Chalerm Yoovidhya [Red Bull’s Thai co-owner].

“When Didi passed away later that year, Christian did everything he could to take control of the company with Yoovidhya’s support. On behalf of ‘Austria’, I did everything possible to prevent that," Marko revealed.

Fast forward to 2025: following Horner's scandal and disappointing on-track performance that left Max Verstappen fighting the mighty McLaren with the lemon of a car that is the RB21, Laurent Mekies was brought into the hot seat as the long-serving boss was sent packing following the 2025 British Grand Prix.

Despite his successful efforts to get rid of Horner, Marko was asked if he felt victorious but responded: "No.

"We had to act because performance on track was falling behind," he went on. "And if we had done it earlier, we would have got things back on track sooner, and Max Verstappen would have been World Champion this year.

"I am absolutely convinced of that," the 82-year-old maintained.

He went on revealing the details of the poisonous situation at Red Bull Racing, which may well explain why the likes of Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall, and Jonathan Wheatley left the team—aside from getting better opportunities, of course.

“But those final years with Horner were not pleasant," Marko said. "Dirty games were being played. Do you remember when it was claimed that I said Mexicans were less focused than Dutch or German people during Sergio Perez’s time? That was fabricated—possibly by them [Horner's camp].

“The same goes for the claim that in 2024 I spread the story that our engine development was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as a partner. I never said that, but Horner wanted to use it to have me suspended.

"Because of Max's support in Jeddah, that didn’t happen," he said, referring to when Verstappen threatened that he would walk if Marko was fired.

“More and more often, we were able to prove that Horner lied about all sorts of things. Once Chalerm realized that too, he changed his mind," Marko concluded, explaining how Horner ultimately lost support.

(Quotes from De Limburger)