Christian Horner drew a parallel between Red Bull and Ferrari at the British Grand Prix, one which became even more intriguing in light of his shock dismissal by Red Bull.
With Fred Vasseur facing intense scrutiny over his future as the Ferrari team boss courtesy of the Italian press, Horner had championed the need for “stability” in an organisation, stressing Red Bull enjoyed it and it has led to 14 world championships. Just days later, Red Bull suddenly released Horner with immediate effect, the memo not received.
Christian Horner declared ‘stability’ brings success before Red Bull axe
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
On the Wednesday following the British Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that it had called time on Horner’s stint as Red Bull Racing boss, one which lasted 20 years with Horner the only team boss since joining the grid in 2005.
It means Silverstone goes down as Horner’s final race with Red Bull, and at the iconic circuit, he had been asked for his thoughts on Vasseur’s situation at Ferrari, which saw him speak in favour of “stability” to allow Vasseur to deliver.
Clearly, those comments did not sway Red Bull’s thinking ahead of their decision to trigger a change of team boss.
Vasseur led Ferrari to a Constructors’ title showdown with McLaren last season at the final race in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari coming agonisingly close to ending their title drought, ongoing since 2008.
But, F1 2025 has been a more challenging task, as while McLaren has emerged as the runaway championship leaders, Ferrari has been restricted to four podiums.
“I think in any organisation, stability is tremendously important,” Horner had said at the British Grand Prix.
“We’ve had 21 years of stability and that has borne the kind of results that we’ve achieved.
“I think Fred is a very capable manager. He’s obviously managing what effectively is a national team in Ferrari, and with that comes expectation and pressure. He’s still relatively new to the role, and it takes time to put the right processes in place, the right people, the right culture.
“There are no silver bullets in this business. It’s about collectively getting a group of people to work towards one objective. And with Ferrari, there is the added pressure of national expectation.”
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Focus returned to Red Bull when Horner was asked if any structural changes would be considered by the team – which sits P4 in the Constructors’ standings – as it was put to Horner that Red Bull appears more centralised around him, compared to a team like McLaren.
He replied: “I think every team structure is different. The role of a team principal in different teams, whilst the job title carries the name, the definition of the role is very different.
“McLaren have activities in IndyCar, in sports cars, across a whole host of different activities.
“At Red Bull Racing, I have a clear structure that reports into me, similar to probably Andy [Cowell, Aston Martin CEO and team principal] does or Toto Wolff [Mercedes one-third owner and team principal] does, where you have the main faculties that report into me.
“Pierre Waché [Red Bull technical director] probably performs 80 per cent of the role that perhaps Andrea [Stella, team principal] does at McLaren. It’s just a different job title, different functions, different set-up.
“It’s a set-up that’s worked incredibly well for us on track and off track. We have a very tight senior management, a very strong structure. We’ve got strength in depth. We don’t feel, and I certainly don’t feel, that there’s a need to change or tune it.
“Of course, you’re always tuning as an organisation and optimising, but our structure, the way it is positioned, is very, very clear.”
Horner had been linked with a move to Ferrari ahead of his Red Bull dismissal – rumours which returned after that shock development – while Alpine has also been highlighted as a potential destination should Horner wish to return to the sport.
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