A former co-worker of Christian Horner has revealed that the former Red Bull boss will be “back with a vengeance” after his shock sacking earlier this week.
Horner had been at the helm of Red Bull since its inception back in 2005, and had led the team to eight drivers’ championships and six constructors' championships in that spell.
He was released from his duties effective immediately on Wednesday morning, with Racing Bulls team principal, Laurent Mekies, set to take his place.
Red Bull have struggled this season, sitting only fourth in the constructors' championship with four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen seemingly out of the title hunt this year.
Christian Horner was brutally axed by Red Bull on Wednesday morning
ReutersHowever, former coworker Mark Gallagher has revealed that this likely won’t be the end of Horner in Formula 1.
Speaking to Betway, he said: “He’s only 51 years of age, he’s got plenty of fuel in the tank, and I’m sure after taking a break, he will come back with a vengeance.”
Gallagher had nothing but kind words to say about the former Red Bull boss as he opened up on his time with him: “Christian has emerged with this media perception of him as the villain of the piece… which may often not bear any relation to reality.
"I’ve always found Christian Horner nothing but polite, receptive, easy to talk to… he’s actually quite a straightforward guy to deal with.”
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Horner’s dismissal comes off the back of two extremely disappointing races for Red Bull. The team scored no points at the brand’s home race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Star driver Max Verstappen was taken out during the first lap, and Yuki Tsunoda finished last on a chastening afternoon for all involved.
This was then followed by another disappointing performance at Silverstone, with Tsunoda finishing last again, and Verstappen falling from pole to fifth after a race filled with mistakes.
Gallagher seems certain there is more to the sacking than Red Bull is making public: “It is a shock and has come out of the blue… we only know what is in the public domain.
READ MORE: Geri Halliwell 'absolutely humiliated' after Christian Horner's Red Bull sacking
Max Verstappen looks unlikely to retain his title after a difficult season so far
Reuters“You don't replace a team principal — certainly not one as successful as Christian — mid-season because the track performance isn’t going so well.”
Gallagher ended by reminding people of how much Horner has done for Red Bull despite their difficult campaign in 2025: “The measure of success in Formula One is very binary — you win or you lose. And Red Bull have done an awful lot more winning than losing.
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“Even now, where they're having a tougher season… they've still won Grands Prix this season. Max is third in the championship, which is by no means a disgrace.
“The thing that will surprise me most is not that he left Red Bull after 21 years — what will surprise me most is if he doesn’t end up with a similarly high-profile role within Formula One before too long.”
Laurent Mekies will take the helm at Red Bull Reuters While it remains to be seen what Horner’s future holds, Red Bull will not have long to adjust to the seismic change as they get ready to race next weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix.