Bernie Ecclestone’s 2025 Christmas card puts Christian Horner at the center. Bernie Ecclestone’s 2025 Christmas card features Christian Horner as the main character.

Bernie Ecclestone’s traditional Christmas card for 2025

The cartoon, created well in advance, has been overtaken by events, as Helmut Marko has also left Red Bull.

Marko and Mintzlaff ‘take aim’ at Horner

As is tradition, Bernie Ecclestone has produced his Christmas card to mark the end of 2025, the year in which the former supreme boss of the Circus celebrated an impressive 95 candles on his birthday cake.

The undisputed star of the cartoon is his friend Christian Horner, who has been “blasted” by Red Bull. In the image, the question is who fired first between Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff. The card, which was drawn up well in advance, has been overtaken by events because shortly after the end of the season Helmut Marko also left Red Bull.

In any case, the cartoon depicts Horner as being very much safe despite his dismissal, because the British manager secured a very substantial financial “parachute”. It is a situation in which Horner can continue leafing through the “book of success” without too many concerns.

From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton: the messages hidden in the card

In the text of the card, in the section dedicated to Formula 1, Max Verstappen is described as the best driver Ecclestone has ever seen in action. Bernie also congratulates Zak Brown for bringing McLaren back to the glories of the past, while Lewis Hamilton is described as suffering because he is now part of a team — Ferrari — that is deemed “incompatible” with the seven-time world champion.

Below is the full text of the Christmas card.

Bernie Ecclestone’s holiday messages have long served as a biting commentary on the internal politics of the paddock, and this 2025 edition proves that even at 95, his sharp wit remains unchanged. By highlighting the fractures at Red Bull and the cultural clash at Ferrari, Bernie reminds the F1 world that while the cars change, the off-track drama is truly timeless. As we look toward the 2026 technical reset, these illustrations capture a sport in the midst of a massive identity shift, where even the most successful figures aren’t immune to the turbulence of the Paddock.