Team Principal Confused Whether It Was the Messages, the Behavior, or Just His General Vibes

MILTON KEYNES–“Is this about the texts?” Christian Horner reportedly stated upon hearing he’d been summarily sacked by Red Bull Racing, a telling remark from a man who once ran the most fearsome engine in F1 politics, only to be undone by his inability to not send a blurry picture of a thumb… it was a thumb, right?

It all began around the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix, when WhatsApp messages between Horner and a female employee were leaked, stirring sexual harassment allegations. Internal investigations cleared him. But the damage was done, mostly to the female employee, but for some reason everyone wants to ignore that. Fissures began forming inside Red Bull’s once unified fortress.

Then the exodus began. Technical mastermind, and seemingly the only designer who could make a decent car at Red Bull, Adrian Newey, the aerodynamic witch who shaped Red Bull’s dominance, defected to Aston Martin in early 2025. Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley left for Sauber in late 2024. Even Horner’s inner circle—Marketing Chief Oliver Hughes and Communications Director Paul Smith—walked away, reportedly unwilling to receive any more WhatsApp messages.

The consequences were swift. Red Bull plummeted to fourth in the Constructors’ standings midway through the 2025 season. Their RB21 chassis struggled to keep pace with McLaren and Mercedes. Max Verstappen, never known for subtlety, reportedly called the car “undrivable” after Suzuka. Whispers of him activating an exit clause in his contract began swirling, casting doubt over the decision to fire Checo, because it was clearly the car the whole time.

So when Red Bull’s Salzburg board finally pulled the trigger on Horner, installing sister team boss Laurent Mekies at the helm, it felt less like a dismissal and more like the closing of the horny… sorry, Horner era. Horner, age 51, walked out in tears, reportedly singing “Bye Bye Miss American Pie,” his two decade chapter ending to muted applause from the entire world.

In sackings, scandals, and corporate coups, “Is this about the texts?” may sound simple. The answer, as always in F1, is usually no. But in this case?

Yeah, Christian. It was the texts.