F1 Red Bull drama-filled season explained - Fourth place standings and team principal fired

Before mid-season, Red Bull fired their team principal, Christian Horner, on July 9. As of now, the team currently sit fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

After Horner’s sudden firing from Red Bull Racing as the leading man, his immediate future in motorsport is unclear.

At present time, the Brit is hoping to join the grid, leading another team from lower down the field to a championship-winning team, as he did with Red Bull.

However, what’s most important is how the energy drink turned racing team has fallen down the standings, despite Max Verstappen becoming a quadruple world champion.

Sports News Blitz’s Ayla Vaughan explores...

Who is ex-Red Bull team principal Christian Horner?

Christian Horner was Red Bull’s team principal since their founding all the way back in 2005, as the energy drink brand bought the Jaguar F1 Team.

He was the youngest team principal at the time - at 31 years old - and recruited the extremely talented Adrian Newey as chief technical officer in November that year.

Along with other high-ranking staff (such as Helmet Marko), they helped Red Bull go from the bottom of the grid to the top with their first Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship in 2010 with Sebastian Vettel.

Their success with Vettel continued with three more titles until Mercedes dominated from 2014-2020 in the hybrid era, making Horner the second youngest team principal to win a Constructors' Championship.

Horner managed to turn the team around, though, with Max Verstappen’s first Drivers’ Championship in 2021 (and subsequent three WDC titles), and further dominance from 2022 until 2024 when McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship.

However, before becoming Red Bull’s Team Principal, Horner had his own racing career in the 90s in the UK.

The Brit began in karts and progressed into the British Formula Renault Championship, British Formula Three, British Formula and Formula 3000.

It is here that in 1997, he founded the Arden team in Formula 3000 and decided to step back from driving in order to focus on developing the racing team.

In his time during his junior racing and management, he met Helmut Marko (head of the Red Bull Junior Team) who was initially one of Horner's main rivals until they began to work together.

Aside from racing, he has been married to Spice Girl Geri Halwell since 2015 and they have a son together.

READ MORE: F1 news: Aston Martin’s unique marketing strategy to attract new female fans

What are the reasons for Red Bull’s drop in performance?

A main reason as to why Red Bull has fallen down the grid is due to numerous high-profile figures leaving the team over the years, such as Adrian Newey, who moved to Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley, who moved to Sauber.

Newey, in particular, was a crucial member of Red Bull as he is widely regarded as one of the greatest engineers in F1 history, having won 12 Constructors' Championship titles and 223 Grands Prix between 1991 and 2024.

Also, he designed the RB19, the most successful F1 car in history, winning 21 out of the 22 races (95.45%) in which it competed.

All this is to show that Red Bull lost a large figure who had the talent and experience to produce race-winning cars, which the team has struggled to do this year with McLaren at the front. 

Another reason for Red Bull’s drop in performance is that 2025 is the last year of the current regulations before a big switch-up in 2026, meaning that the cars have become closer. 

Whilst Red Bull dominated in 2022 and 2023, as time passed, other teams surpassed them to where they are now fourth in the standings behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Furthermore, their lead driver, Verstappen, has openly expressed frustrations with the car this year, with rumours surrounding his future with the team and a possible move to Mercedes. 

When did Red Bull begin to struggle?

Even though Red Bull and Verstappen handily won both titles in 2022, cracks began to emerge with the death of ​​Dietrich Mateschitz, the co-founder and joint-owner of Red Bull.

There was a power struggle in Red Bull between the Austrian and Thai co-owners of the brand, with one side favouring Horner and the other not.

Going further back, Red Bull have struggled to have a second driver in their car who could challenge Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from the Austrian team in 2018.

They promoted Pierre Gasly from their junior team to the main team in 2019, but then demoted him mid-season for their other junior team driver, Alex Albon.

This instability would continue as neither Gasly nor Albon could challenge the Dutch driver. The team then took a chance and signed Sergio Perez for 2021.

The Mexican driver had initially been competitive, especially in his first year at Red Bull, where he helped Verstappen win his first championship in F1.

However, Perez began to struggle as his career went on, with big crashes and regular poor qualifying performances.

Perez won a total of five races with Red Bull from 2021-2024, but was yet again outperformed by Verstappen, who was the Drivers’ champion all of those years.

Therefore, Red Bull tried to help him replicate his great form in 2021 and 2022 with their support and encouragement, but it was not enough, and he was replaced by Liam Lawson for the 2025 season.

Then it was as if we had gone back in time, as Lawson was promoted from their junior team once again into the big team and massively struggled.

Red Bull would repeat the pattern by replacing Lawson after two races with Yuki Tsunoda, who was also from their junior team, and continues to struggle against the mighty Verstappen.

Why did Red Bull fire Christian Horner?

Rumours of Red Bull’s sacking of Horner first started back in February 2024 when he faced an investigation following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague. 

The investigation was conducted by an external lawyer, and Horner was cleared of all wrongdoing later that month, meaning he maintained his position at Red Bull. 

However, this scandal continued to follow him throughout the year, with an anonymous email being sent to F1 journalists containing alleged WhatsApp chats between Horner and the aforementioned colleague. 

Horner continued to claim his innocence throughout 2024 and into 2025, but Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, was reportedly unhappy with the Brit staying in his role at the team.

Therefore, the sacking instead came at a time when Red Bull's performance had taken a significant downturn compared to previous seasons.

Currently, they are out of contention for the Constructors’ Championship, having a total of 172 points, which is 288 behind leaders McLaren after 12 rounds (halfway through the season). 

This is a very big contrast to this time last year, when they had the lead, having scored 201 points more than their current tally.

Additionally, despite securing two wins (at Suzuka, Japan and Imola, Italy), Verstappen has fallen away from championship leader Oscar Piastri and now trails by 69 points.

The combination of his scandal and the team’s lack of results may have been the deciding factor in letting him go, but more information will undoubtedly be released in the future.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Singapore GP: McLaren win 2025 Constructors’ Championship amid more intrateam drama

Where will Christian Horner work now?

He is no longer a high-ranking member of the Red Bull team and was officially let go from his contract on September 22, according to Sky Sports F1.

This endeavour cost the team around £75 million since he was supposed to be in this role up to 2030.

It remains to be seen what his next steps may be, but rumours say he is considering joining a midfield or backmarker team such as Haas, Alpine and Aston Martin. 

However, his social media comments thus far largely consist of him thanking the team for all they have done together.

They are as follows from his Instagram:

“After an incredible journey of twenty years together, it is with a heavy heart that today I say goodbye to the Team I have absolutely loved. Every one of you, the amazing people at the factory, have been the heart and soul of everything that we have achieved.

“Win and lose, every step of the way, we have stood by each other as one and I will never forget that. It’s been a privilege being part of and leading this epic team and I am so proud of our collective accomplishments and you all. 

“Thanks to the amazing partners and fans who enabled us to go racing. Your support has helped grow the team from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse that laid claim to [six] Constructors' Championships and [eight] Drivers' Championships. 

“Equally, thank you to our rivals, with whom there would be no racing at all. You’ve pushed us, challenged us, and enabled us to achieve accolades we never dreamed possible. The competition has made every victory sweeter and every setback an opportunity to develop and grow. 

“Formula 1 is a sport built on relentless ambition, passion, and respect. The rivalries have been fierce, but the mutual drive to innovate and raise the bar is what has made this journey so special. 

“It’s been an honour to be part of this incredible era of motorsport. I leave with immense pride in what we’ve achieved and also with what’s in the pipeline for 2026 - and huge respect for everyone who’s made F1 the pinnacle it is today.”

How will Red Bull perform in the future?

Red Bull’s future remains highly uncertain, as in 202,6 they will have their own power train alongside Ford, departing from using Honda as an engine manufacturer.

Laurent Mekies, former Racing Bulls Team Principal, replaced Horner as CEO and team principal and will have to quickly adapt to a new team halfway through the season.

Mekies impressed Red Bull with the way he has led their junior team Racing Bulls since the start of last year, meaning that Alan Permane has been promoted from Racing Director to take his place.

Red Bull seems to have a high amount of confidence in Mekies, who, during his time at Racing Bulls, formed a close partnership with CEO Peter Bayer. 

Together, they restructured the team, which has grown in terms of personnel and infrastructure, as well as emerging as a strong midfield contender this year. 

The Frenchman also has a good relationship with senior personnel in Red Bull, which should help ease the transition into this new role.

Mekies has overseen an upturn in results for Red Bull since the summer break, with Verstappen finishing second at the Dutch and Singapore Grand Prix as well as claiming back-to-back victories in Italy and Azerbaijan.

Aside from the changes at the top of the team, Red Bull will need to sort out their second driver problem as Tsunoda has only finished in the points in Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Imola, Miami and Bahrain since stepping up from the sister team.

Lastly, Red Bull will need to convince Verstappen to fulfil his contract of driving for the team until the end of 2028 by producing a competitive car that can fight at the front of the field once again.

READ NEXT: Five reasons why McLaren won the 2025 Constructors’ World Championship