Christian Horner has revealed Red Bull shareholders called him on the back of the Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine’s maiden Formula 1 victory in Malaysia.
Horner joined the Milton Keynes-based squad as its team principal when the brand acquired the Jaguar outfit ahead of the 2005 season, but was sacked and replaced by Laurent Mekies in July 2025.
Across two decades at the helm of the team, Horner not only led it to eight drivers’ and six constructors’ titles but also oversaw its transition from an engine customer into a power unit manufacturer, following Honda’s exit from F1 at the end of the 2021 season.
Red Bull was able to keep using the Japanese powertrains until last year; its own power unit, designed in collaboration with Ford, debuted in 2026.
The Red Bull engine clinched its first victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, courtesy of Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman making it back-to-back wins one week later in Singapore.
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Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?“We managed to do it on the chassis side and then the challenge came, could we do it on the engine side?” Horner related in a conference at Autosport Business Exchange in New York.
“You know, we needed to have an engine after Honda announced their withdrawal in 2020. So we created this start-up company called Powertrains, with the same philosophy of attracting the talent, giving people the chances and giving people the opportunity, and empowering them and encouraging them to push the boundaries.
“I've been super proud to be a part of the engine that was developed and delivered this year.”
Errol Barnett and Christian Horner
Photo by: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images
Horner’s contribution was acknowledged by the brand itself, as he received the aforementioned phone call from its leaders.
“It was an appreciated gesture, seeing that engine and knowing what went into it, you know, the sweat and tears along the way,” the Briton continued.
“For all the men and women involved, it was an incredible, incredible achievement. To win a grand prix is very hard at the best times.
“I was very grateful to both the shareholders who reached out, and all of the men and women who reached out to thank me as well. It was quite a different call to the one I had 15 months earlier.”
Horner is referring to the phone call that led to his dismissal, as his position had become increasingly precarious following Red Bull cofounder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal and Dietrich Mateschitz, CEO and Founder of Red Bull
Photo by: Sutton Images
Horner did not have the Verstappen camp on his side and was losing the support of the Yoovidhya family – Chalerm Yoovidhya is a majority owner of the company – but still describes the news as “pretty abrupt and quite brutal”.
“I felt that things were changing,” he added. “Nothing stays the same forever, and after the founder Dietrich Mateschitz sadly passed at the end of ‘22, it was always going to be the case that the company was going to evolve or was going to change.
“Dietrich, he was Red Bull, he was the power behind all big decisions. And suddenly, obviously, trying to replace somebody like that, it’s impossible.
“And then obviously, as the group evolved and took on that challenge, it was just different. There was a drive to bring more control back into the head office and that sat differently from the autonomy that we'd enjoyed at Red Bull Racing.
“It was a different path than essentially what we were on, and you could feel that that was changing. It wasn't that it was right or wrong, it was just different.
“So, inevitably, it came to a deadlock.”
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