New information on Christian Horner emerges after shock Red Bull axe:
— Christian Horner’s exit from Red Bull sparked a wave of sadness at the team’s Milton Keynes HQ. Sky Sports’ David Croft and Craig Slater reported emotional scenes as Horner gave a farewell speech and departed, joined by two senior allies.
— Slater revealed Horner was informed of the decision on Tuesday, with senior partners notified that evening. Horner addressed staff at 10am Wednesday and left at 11:25am, following instructions from Red Bull’s Salzburg office for staff to remain silent.
— The two additional departures were Oliver Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer, and Paul Smith, Group Director of Communications—both closely linked to Horner. Their exits further reflect the sweeping changes inside Red Bull’s leadership.
— Croft described a powerful response from employees who had worked under Horner throughout his 20-year reign. Horner was visibly moved during his speech, receiving a standing ovation from staff.
“Yes, and that emotion is one of sadness today.”
“We look around a Red Bull campus that 20 years ago was barely a third of the size that it is now. In Christian Horner’s time as CEO and team principal, he has seen extensions and engine factories, wind tunnel factories built, workforce increased to well over 1000 people now.”
“And that’s just on the car side. The engine side, the wind tunnel that’s been built as well, employing even more.”
“And from those that we’ve managed to speak to, it is a unified sense of disappointment and sadness, at a man that they see, has unified their team, who was never afraid to sit and have a chat to various people, no matter what they did for the organisation.”
“The speech that Christian Horner gave this morning to the factory, we understand, was hugely emotional, and Christian himself was very emotional and broke down on occasion, and he received a massive ovation at the end of that speech from a workforce that are very loyal to him, because he has helped bring success, bonuses and World Championship glory in terms of 14 world titles during his time as team principal.”