Christian Horner reveals in Drive to Survive Season 8 that Max Verstappen’s struggles were not behind his shocking Red Bull exit, instead he pointed fingers to the former team advisor Helmut Marko and internal power shifts following Dietrich Mateschitz’s death.
Drive to Survive Season 8: Christian Horner Clears Max Verstappen Over Red Bull Sacking — “Not Responsible At All”
When Red Bull Racing sacked their long-term Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner, in the middle of the 2025 Formula 1 season, the entire motorsport community was shocked. However, fans somehow justified the move given the below-par performance of the team’s star, Max Verstappen during that time.
However, now, ahead of the 2026 season, it has been revealed that Max’s disappointing outings were not one of the factors “responsible in any way” for ending Horner’s 20-year tenure in Red Bull.
The Netflix docudrama series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 8, which shows the chaos of the 2025 season both on and off track, features Horner’s own words on the controversy. He revealed the name behind his exit, and it was not Max or Jos Verstappen.
The series, which will hit screens on February 27, nine days ahead of the first Grand Prix of the 2026 season on March 8, asked Horner to comment on the biggest story of last season, which unfolded on July 9, 2025.
“I feel a real sense of loss and hurt. It was all rather sudden. I didn't really get the chance to say a proper goodbye,” he said, before revealing that it was Red Bull’s former advisor, Helmut Marko, who was responsible for his sacking.
BREAKING: Christian Horner is to exit Red Bull Racing with immediate effect#F1 pic.twitter.com/v50mwnBlV6
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2025
“I never imagined to be in this position. Of course, your immediate reaction when you're delivered a s*** sandwich like that is to say ‘**** them’. I've had something taken away from me that wasn't my choice, that was very precious to me.”
The fact that — and that Red Bull were 299 points behind leaders McLaren made it somewhat easy to connect the dots and assume Horner had been removed to bring a change of direction.
At the time, Max Verstappen was having the most difficult time of his career since 2022, falling to third in the Drivers’ standings, trailing leader Oscar Piastri by 69 points. Meanwhile, Red Bull found themselves 299 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.
Given those numbers, it was easy to connect the dots and assume Horner’s departure was a performance-based decision aimed at triggering change.
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“His father has never been my biggest fan. He's been outspoken about me. But I don't believe the Verstappens were responsible in any way. I think this was a decision that was made by Oliver Mintzlaff, with Helmut advising from the sidelines,” Horner said.
Horner also suggests that the shift in power dynamics began after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in October 2022.
Helmut Marko had operated as the personal representative of the late Red Bull founder, Mateschitz, but he stepped down from all his roles with the Milton Keynes-based team at the end of the 2025 F1 season.
“I think ultimately things changed within the business, within the group. The founder died, and after Dietrich [Mateschitz]’s death, I think probably I was deemed to have maybe too much control,” Horner stated in the docuseries.
