Is Red Bull on the verge of collapse?

Just when you thought Red Bull Racing was untouchable, the shock news hit: Christian Horner, the team principal and CEO who’s been the beating heart of the team for 20 years, was suddenly sacked.

The F1 world was sent into a tailspin on Wednesday night AEST, and after two decades of steering Red Bull from a newcomer in Formula 1 to one of the sport’s greatest dynasties, Horner was gone — effective immediately — just days after the British Grand Prix.

If you’ve followed F1 even casually, you’ll know Horner’s name is synonymous with Red Bull’s

dominance. Six constructors’ championships and eight drivers’ titles — four for Sebastian Vettel, four for Max Verstappen — all happened under his watch. The man’s been at the helm since the team’s debut in 2005. So, this isn’t just a management shuffle. It’s seismic.

Red Bull confirmed the news with a brief statement and introduced Laurent Mekies, boss of the sister Racing Bulls team, as Horner’s replacement. It was clean and professional, but the buzz around the paddock and among fans is anything but. How does a dominant team suddenly axe its leader?

Why now, especially after last year’s allegations against Horner? What’s really happening behind the scenes?

Adding fuel to the fire, whispers and rumours are swirling around Verstappen’s future at the team.

Despite being under contract until 2028, there’s chatter Verstappen could be eyeing a Mercedes move in 2026. Could this upheaval be linked? Some pundits speculate it came down to Horner or Verstappen — and that Verstappen’s camp has come out on top.

Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, has stayed tight-lipped, only confirming that Red Bull management informed them of the decision in advance but declined to explain why. His message, however, was clear: the focus remains on “looking for more performance” to return to the top.

And boy, does Red Bull need it. The team’s form has dipped significantly in both 2024 and 2025.

Coming off the most dominant season in F1 history in 2023, they dropped to third in 2024 and now trail McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes in the 2025 constructors’ championship. Verstappen has delivered two standout wins this year, but teammates Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have struggled, with Tsunoda recently enduring a run of point-less races.

But the trouble runs deeper than just results. Since the 2022 passing of Dietrich Mateschitz — Red Bull’s founding energy drink mogul and the key figure who kept the team’s powerhouse personalities in check — tensions have been simmering. Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle suggested that Verstappen’s camp, including his father Jos and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, had been “lobbing in hand grenades” at Horner for months. Now, it seems, the gloves have finally come off.

That internal turmoil could explain why key figures like Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall, and Jonathan Wheatley have all left the team in recent years. Losing four senior leaders in quick succession? That’s a lot of upheaval for any organisation, let alone one competing at the very top of motorsport.

So, is Red Bull on the verge of collapse? Not necessarily, but they’re definitely navigating choppy waters. Mekies inherits a tough job. The French engineer, who re-joined the Red Bull family at the sister team in 2023, now has to steady the ship, rebuild morale, and convince Verstappen — and the world — that Red Bull can return to its winning ways.

What’s clear is that the Dutch star’s future is entwined with the team’s fortunes. He holds a contract until 2028, but performance clauses mean that if things don’t improve, he could make an early exit.

Adding further uncertainty to the equation is Red Bull’s decision to build its own engines. From 2026, they’ll partner with Ford to develop a brand-new power unit under F1’s next-generation engine regulations. It’s a bold and risky move — one that could either reinforce Red Bull’s dominance or expose new vulnerabilities. The success or failure of that project could have a huge bearing on whether Verstappen sticks around long-term.

In a rare moment of calm amid the chaos, Verstappen paid tribute to Horner with a message on Instagram, thanking him for their journey together — from his first race win to four world

championships. “Thank you for everything, Christian!” he wrote.

Red Bull has built a legacy on energy, innovation, and a relentless drive to win. But now, with a new leader at the helm and questions swirling around its star driver, the team faces its biggest test in years. Can Mekies deliver the spark Red Bull needs? Will Verstappen stay the course? Or is this just the start of a new shake-up in Formula 1’s power structure?

One thing’s for certain — the next few months are going to be must-watch.