The new series of Formula 1: Drive to Survive is set for release on Netflix later this week.

Christian Horner shared who he believes is responsible for his Red Bull exit (Image: Getty)
Christian Horner has absolved Max Verstappen and his father Jos of any blame for his sudden Red Bull axe last summer. Instead, the 52-year-old believes long-serving team adviser Helmut Marko was the one who pushed for him to get the chop.

Speaking to Netflix cameras for the new series of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, out on Friday, Horner reflected on how his 20-year tenure ended suddenly after last July’s British Grand Prix. It was in that specially recorded interview, which took place at the home he shares with Spice Girl singer wife Geri and their blended family of three children, that he shared his emotion of having the team taken away from him.

He said: “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. I never imagined being in this position. Of course, your immediate reaction when you’re delivered a sandwich like that is to say, ‘F*** them’. I had something taken away from me which wasn’t my choice, and it was very precious to me.”

His position had been under threat for 18 months leading up to his dismissal, following an allegation of inappropriate behaviour made by a female colleague. Horner denied the claim and was cleared of wrongdoing by an independent KC who reviewed the evidence, but his opponents smelled the blood in the water.

Horner believes Helmut Marko pushed Red Bull sporting CEO Oliver Mintzlaff into the decision (Image: Getty)

Jos Verstappen, father of the team’s star driver Max, publicly called for his head on more than one occasion. Marko, meanwhile, was more subtle, quietly pushing for change in the background by trying to influence Red Bull’s Austrian CEOs. Not that they needed much persuading.

Relations between the Horner-led race team and the parent company had been frosty ever since Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz died in 2022, leading to his son Mark assuming control. There was never the same level of trust as there had been previously with his father, while sporting projects chief Oliver Mintzlaff also felt Horner wielded too much power.

Horner feels Marko played a far greater role in his exit than the Verstappens ever did, adding: “Max’s 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 made by Oliver Mintzlaff, with Helmut Marko advising from the sidelines.

“Ultimately, things changed within the business and the group. The founder died and, after Dietrich’s death, I was probably deemed to have, maybe, too much control.” While Marko was successful in having Horner deposed, he too would walk through the exit door at the end of the year, his contract to continue advising the team and looking after their young development drivers not renewed by Mintzlaff.