Christian Horner wanted to leave a sordid season behind him. Boos mar early days for F1 executive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner walks to the track during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Any hope Christian Horner had of leaving last year’s sordid season behind him was dashed at Formula 1’s splashy London car launch last month when the Red Bull Racing leader was booed.

The vitriol aimed at Horner and four-time reigning champion Max Verstappen was so bad that governing body FIA was forced to acknowledge it.

“It was disappointing to hear the crowd’s tribalist reaction,” the FIA said. “Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.”

Horner appears to be F1’s villain as the season begins this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix. The latest version of “Drive to Survive” debuted one week before Friday’s season-opening practice and the humiliating position Horner was in just one year ago, when he was under investigation by Red Bull following employee allegations of inappropriate behavior, is only briefly covered. The topic is nonetheless back in front of fans.

The episode correctly notes that Horner has twice been cleared of any wrongdoing but largely skims over the breathtaking drama surrounding Horner’s fate in a power battle at Red Bull. The dysfunction led to Red Bull losing a third consecutive constructor’s championship even as Verstappen marched on to win another driver’s title.

The first episode’s narrative is that Horner and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown hate each other. McLaren won last year’s constructor title and sees Lando Norris as a threat to dethrone Verstappen. The rivalry is real and isn’t going away.

The Associated Press conducted a series of interviews with Horner near the end of last season and ahead of the 2025 campaign. He was a man eager to move on from the allegations and determined to preserve his grasp on Red Bull.

Horner was careful in discussing details since the former employee is still pressing the allegations.

A stumble at the top

Horner said he is confused about how quickly he came crashing down from the top of global motorsports, though he painted Red Bull itself as something of an renegade outsider.

“Because we’re different. We are not an OEM. We are a subsidiary of an energy drink company that is beating Mercedes-Benz and it isn’t sitting comfortably,” Horner said. “We’re not in anyone’s pocket. We do our own thing. We are a bit of maverick in that regard. And I think that is recognized outside the paddock: We are the most popular team. We’re bigger than Arsenal, we’re bigger than teams like the Dallas Cowboys. But inside the paddock, it’s very easy for people to want to have a go at you or diminish what you’re doing.”

How does he take the scrutiny?

“My wife always said to me a pat on the back is six inches from a kick up the (expletive),” Horner said. “I love the people and the competition and when the lights go out, that’s the freedom. And you put up with the other (expletive). It’s when you lose the passion for it all that you really have a problem”

The start of last season was horrific for Horner with the allegations against him sparking untold rumors. His wife is Geri Halliwell — Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls — and a bigger celebrity than Horner. She flew to last season’s season-opening race as the tabloids chased reaction and responded with an affectionate pre-race walk for all the cameras to capture.

For what his family suffered, Horner says he is shattered. The employee allegation happened as he was in the process of adopting Halliwell’s 18-year-old daughter, and he said the couple had to send the teen to Switzerland to escape the paparazzi.

“I trusted in me and myself and the process and with the support of my amazing family and amazing wife and some great people, some outstanding team members,” Horner said. “I just let the process play out.”

Turmoil at Red Bull

Many wonder what sparked the allegations and whether they were part of a power battle between Horner and Verstappen’s father, Jos, who openly pushed for Horner’s ouster at Red Bull. Jos Verstappen has a feared reputation as father of the four-time champion and wields outsized power even without a formal job with the team.

Attempts by AP to give Jos Verstappen the opportunity to comment for this story were met with noncommittal communications.

Horner would prefer more attention on how well Max Verstappen did in winning nine races, a fourth consecutive title with a teammate who didn’t carry his weight, and the stoppage of Red Bull employees quitting left and right. The most devastating departure was Adrian Newey, the top car designer who built Red Bull’s once-unbeatable car.

Still, Horner told AP there was far more internal support than fracturing among the executives even as Jos Verstappen was actively calling Horner a distraction who would tear Red Bull apart.

“What really touched me was that I had all the senior members of the team coming to my office and individually gave me letters of support,” Horner said. “Sometimes it looked like the world was against us, but internally we remained strong.”

Horner and his peers

Horner spent the last four years as an F1 star, certainly on Netflix, in part because of Red Bull’s success on track and his savviness for the cameras. Now he is a target, the team principal whom all the others wouldn’t mind watching fall.

Horner asked AP about the budding friendship between Brown and Mercedes head Toto Wolff. Horner said he finds it a convenient relationship and wondered if the two have buddied up to plot against him.

“Now Zak and Toto have become best friends, and they clearly are working together against me,” Horner said. “I don’t see that friendship ending well.”

The AP asked both Wolff and Brown independently about Horner’s claim.

Wolff was Horner’s nemesis before Brown. He was the one who poked Horner every chance, but now he lets Brown be the instigator. “He has totally lost the plot,” Wolff says of Horner’s observation.

Brown at first justified how long he has been friends with Wolff, then noted with satisfaction the effect he is having on Horner.

“It doesn’t hurt that he doesn’t like Toto and I being friends,” Brown told AP. “We’d all like to see him knocked down.”

This isn’t over

Horner made an offseason lineup change, replacing Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson as Red Bull tries to reclaim the championship sweep. Despite twice being cleared in investigations into his behavior, the battle continues with an early 2026 hearing before a United Kingdom employment tribunal. The employee has been suspended by Red Bull for over a year.

Horner clearly doesn’t want to anger the Verstappens — father or son — and wants credit given for the job Max Verstappen has done since his first championship in 2021. Horner said he wants to win back the “DTS” audience that has turned on him, and knows the series' new storyline in which he and Brown are the enemies of the sport will continue.

How’s that for turning a corner? So far, not what he wanted.

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By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press