Christian Horner sacked!

[timko] · 28 Jul 2025 at 20:04

Scam said:
No need to be on the fence mate the world and his dog knew he did it deliberately But it was Rosberg's immediate reading of the situation/punishment that was spot on. I have a memory like a sieve so I'm probably wrong, but he does generally seem on the money with his opinions. It's just he takes himself so damn seriously and is just so.. what's the word... annoying

You're right. It should have been a black flag if the race director himself wasn't so on the fence

As for Rosberg, like most brits I wasn't particularly fond of him when Lewis was stomping his way through WDC after WDC but as a commentator it's nice to hear anyone go hard left or right on something. I guess in hindsight any broadcaster, whether it's Sky UK, BBC or Ch4, they have to remain "mostly" neutral and so that leaves open the oppturnity for any guest commentator to pull the hard punches instead.

GR63 · 29 Jul 2025 at 11:54

Kelt said:
According to the Daily Mail, Horner is to be sacked imminently by Red Bull.

Mod note:
Just a reminder, but consider it a warning - can we not have any further derogatory name calling of drivers, team bosses and the like. We don't expect you to like every driver/team, but at least keep comments respectful.

In light of the warning above... there is nothing I can say :-D

Mr Jack · 30 Jul 2025 at 07:58

Everyone's favourite, Dr Marko, has commented on Horner's sacking (video in German) saying that the sacking was down to performance and that the decision came from above ("gesellschaftsführer", in this context CEO? I think? Not sure). He also commented that Mekies will have a more limited role than Horner, concentrating more on racing which seems like a hint that there was a wider goal in sacking Horner and perhaps bringing the team under more centralised control?

Jimbeam3678 · 30 Jul 2025 at 09:09

Bit of a stretch but maybe related to where they think are going to land next season? Or am I reading too much in to it?

chrismscotland · 30 Jul 2025 at 12:45

Mr Jack said:
Everyone's favourite, Dr Marko, has commented on Horner's sacking (video in German) saying that the sacking was down to performance and that the decision came from above ("gesellschaftsführer", in this context CEO? I think? Not sure). He also commented that Mekies will have a more limited role than Horner, concentrating more on racing which seems like a hint that there was a wider goal in sacking Horner and perhaps bringing the team under more centralised control?

Its pretty clear that Red Bull "Austria" want to take more control over the team; I've heard it mentioned by quite a few journo's etc that often Red Bull Racing was almost referred to as "Team Horner" rather than Red Bull due to the way it ran totally independent of the rest of Red Bull.

Personally I think its a mistake for more corporate ******** - Red Bull have done a pretty poor job getting much success out of their football teams so far and Oliver Mintzlaff has been boss of that part for a while.

Mr Jack · 30 Jul 2025 at 13:04

chrismscotland said:
Personally I think its a mistake for more corporate ******** - Red Bull have done a pretty poor job getting much success out of their football teams so far and Oliver Mintzlaff has been boss of that part for a while.

Yeah, arms length is the way to go I think. But I guess that a certain arrogance is required to become top brass in these kind of companies, as well as a certain paranoia. My guess is that its less that they want more control than they didn't like Horner having so much control. Disarming a potential rival rather than a desire to run it better.

Not relevant to the point, but: RB Leipzig have done exceptionally well, I'd say. Their rise from the lower leagues to the Bundesliga was nothing short of meteoric, and whilst they have yet to land the title, just fighting at the top of the league is an impressive achievement, as is twice winning the DFB-Pokal.

GR63 · Sunday at 12:37

One benefit I see of Horner's demise is that I think we are getting more air time with OTHER Team Principals... Jonathan Wheatley for example...

CaptainRAVE · Sunday at 12:41

GR63 said:
One benefit I see of Horner's demise is that I think we are getting more air time with OTHER Team Principals... Jonathan Wheatley for example...

Agreed, it was tiresome having Sky constantly speak to him on the pit wall during the race and his boring post race analysis.

JRS · Sunday at 13:09

CaptainRAVE said:
Agreed, it was tiresome having Sky constantly speak to him on the pit wall during the race and his boring post race analysis.

'Tiresome' barely even covers it. It was actively painful.

CaptainRAVE · Sunday at 14:04

JRS said:
'Tiresome' barely even covers it. It was actively painful.

I was trying to hold back

kar · Tuesday at 15:29

Horner was good TV. But even good tv can get old if that's all thats on.

JRS · Tuesday at 16:15

kar said:
Horner was good TV. But even good tv can get old if that's all thats on.

He wasn't good TV. He was a droning, whiny ***** with takes that were impressively free of facts while remaining extremely boring. Now, in that regard he fitted right in with modern F1 commentary to be fair...