Christian Horner has finally spoken publicly about his dramatic departure from Red Bull, pointing the finger at Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff as the architects of his removal from the team he led for two decades.
The 52-year-old former team principal had remained silent since his dismissal just 48 hours after last July's British Grand Prix.
He has now broken his silence on the upcoming series of Netflix's Formula 1: Drive to Survive, set for release this Friday.
In his first media appearance since leaving the championship-winning outfit, Horner accuses his former colleague Marko of working against him behind the scenes.
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He identifies Mintzlaff, managing director of Red Bull GmbH, as the primary decision-maker in his ousting.
Horner reveals that the abruptness of his exit left him deeply wounded.
He told the Netflix cameras: "I feel a real sense of loss and hurt. It was all rather sudden.
"I didn't really get the chance to say a proper goodbye."
Christian Horner has finally spoken publicly about his dramatic departure from Red Bull
|GETTY
He said: "I never imagined to be in this position.
"Of course your immediate reaction when you're delivered a s*** sandwich like that is to say 'F*** them'. I had something taken away from me which wasn't my choice which was very precious to me."
Horner suggests the internal landscape at Red Bull shifted fundamentally following the passing of company founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
He explained: "I think ultimately things changed within the business, within the group. After Dietrich's death, I was probably deemed to have maybe too much control."
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Christian Horner left Red Bull after 20 years at the helm | GETTYDespite Jos Verstappen publicly demanding Horner's removal during the sexting scandal the previous year, from which Horner was cleared by two separate independent investigations, the former team boss absolves both father and son of any involvement in his departure.
Horner said: "His father has never been my biggest fan. He's been outspoken about me.
"But I don't believe the Verstappens were responsible in any way.
"I think this was a decision made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut Marko advising from the sideline."
Christian Horner has been widely rumoured to return to F1
| PAHorner also addresses the controversial decision to replace Yuki Tsunoda with Liam Lawson after merely two races last season, a move that Max Verstappen opposed.
He said: "I was always pushed to take drivers from the young driver programme.
"Helmut was a big driver in it."
Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies, who previously led the sister team Racing Bulls.
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