Jul 7, 2007; Silverstone, ENGLAND; Formula One president/ceo Bernie Ecclestone during qualifying for the 2007 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone. Mandatory Credit: GEPA pictures/ Mathias Kniepeiss via USA TODAY Sports

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Bernie Ecclestone Can’t Believe the Urgency of Christian Horner’s Sacking!

Bernie Ecclestone takes a jibe at Christian Horner's unceremonious removal from the team

Red Bull Racing and Christian Horner were like an inseparable since 2005. The start of 2025 season saw some widening cracks in the team when key professionals left. However, there was no hint or idea of what was about to happen next. In a few months, the team went from working on the championship to firing Christian Horner. The news was unprecedented and completely uncalled for.

The British Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix were not at all fruitful for the team. Yet, people had no idea that Red Bull would end up parting ways with Christian Horner. Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 supremo and longtime friend of Christian Horner, gave his verdict on the matter sometime ago. Ecclestone put the blame on Christian Horner’s working habits and his alleged scandal in 2024 as the deciding factor. Even though Bernie seems to have an idea about the situation, he still finds it difficult to accept the decision.

F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone Compares Horner’s Sacking to “Murder”

Having ruled Formula 1 for a long time, the F1 Supremo is not known to mince words. Bernie Ecclestone had a similar reaction to Red Bull Racing’s decision of firing Christian Horner. He took a harsh jibe at the team, comparing their decision to sack Horner as if- “he had committed a murder“.

Nevertheless, Bernie Ecclestone found it strange to believe that Red Bull Racing would treat their former CEO in such a manner. After all, the entirety of success Red Bull Racing had in Formula 1 came behind the lead of Christian Horner.

“It must be something very serious, in my opinion. I spoke to him the day before and he didn’t know. Well, he might have known, but he didn’t tell me. It was a normal conversation. We were talking about Max. Nothing to do with this, otherwise he would have told me. All I know is the message the whole world has got, which is, he’s been fired, effective immediately.”

"Brutal" "Odd" – just some of the words used to describe Horner's sacking#F1 #F12025 #F1News https://t.co/qiT3HAKrSp
— RacingNews365.com (@Racingnews365c) July 9, 2025

“It’s the effective immediately I don’t understand. Why would they ask him to leave with immediate effect? It’s like he’s murdered somebody. You can understand, if you’re going to fire somebody, then you’d have a chat before and you’d come out with something like, ‘We’ve agreed to part company’, or something. But to come out and say, ‘You’re fired with immediate effect’, he must have done something a bit drastic for that to happen.”

It is true that the decision seems rather rushed and abrupt from Red Bull’s end. Christian Horner was apparently allowed to address the team before he left. However, the team has not posted any official statement about their decision to not continue with Christian Horner as the CEO.

Bernie Ecclestone

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Formula 1 2025 Season

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.