Christian Horner has been accused of “lying” and playing “dirty games” at Red Bull after a fierce attack from outgoing adviser Helmut Marko.
Horner lost an internal power struggle at the F1 team earlier this year when he was dismissed as team principal in July after 20 years at the outfit and 14 world championships to his name.
Horner launched Red Bull in 2005 alongside Austrian executive Marko, who controlled the team’s driver academy and was known for his cut-throat driver decisions.
Marko, 82, announced his retirement last week and will leave Red Bull at the end of the year but has since launched a stinging attack of his former colleague, amid a period of turbulence at the team over the last two years.
“Those last few years with Horner were not pleasant,” Marko told Dutch outlet De Limburger. “There were dirty games being played.
“Do you remember me saying, during Sergio Perez’s [former Red Bull driver] time, that Mexicans are less focused than the Dutch or Germans? That was fabricated, perhaps by them.
“Just like I supposedly spread the rumour in 2024 that the development of our engine was behind schedule and that we would therefore lose Ford as our sponsor.
“I never said that, but Horner wanted to use it to suspend me. Because Max [Verstappen] stepped in at Jeddah, it didn’t happen.
“We were increasingly able to prove that Horner was lying about all sorts of things. Once Chalerm [Yoovidhya, Red Bull’s majority shareholder] realised this too, he had a change of heart.”
Despite Marko’s fresh comments, the Austrian did apologise in 2023 after saying in reference to Perez: “He is South American and he is just not as completely focused in his head as Max [Verstappen] is or as Sebastian [Vettel].”
Horner and Marko fell out amid the controversy surrounding allegations of inappropriate behaviour levelled at Horner from a female colleague ahead of the 2024 season. Horner was cleared, twice, after two internal investigations.
Yet a divide within the outfit was clear: Horner had Thai majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya in his corner, while Marko had the support of Red Bull GmbH in Austria as well as Max Verstappen’s dad, Jos, who called for Horner to leave his post.
While Horner stayed in charge for Max Verstappen’s fourth title triumph last year, he was surprisingly relieved of his duties after this year’s British Grand Prix, having lost the support of Yoovidhya.
Horner, who is allowed to return to Formula One in the spring of next year, is now eyeing a route back into the sport, with Alpine a potential destination. The 52-year-old, however, is keen for a stake in any team he joins.
The 2026 F1 season starts in Melbourne, Australia on 8 March.
