Red Bull faces potential mass departure of Christian Horner’s close allies with no gardening leave required. Following Christian Horner’s dismissal, Red Bull faces a potential exodus of his loyal team members.

The rumor
Christian Horner appeared to be firmly in charge of Red Bull despite a very public storm unfolding between February and March 2024. However, after 18 months, the British team principal was dismissed by Red Bull a month ago, when the Austrian management’s shareholding allowed Oliver Mintzlaff to fire Horner shortly after the British Grand Prix.

Taking over from the man who transformed Red Bull from the ashes of Jaguar Racing into a 14-time world championship-winning team is former Ferrari official Laurent Mekies, who gained his first team principal experience leading the Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s junior team. Following the departures of Adrian Newey and Jonathan Weathley, the Milton Keynes-based team has now suffered the loss of yet another pillar figure within the organization.

Retaining Max Verstappen was not the primary concern for the new management tasked with handling the post-Horner era. Verstappen’s contract clause allowing exit expired at the end of July and would have been triggered only if he fell outside the top three in the drivers’ championship. The bigger worry is that without the cornerstone that was Horner, other key figures within the fragile Red Bull structure could also collapse or leave.

According to journalist Joe Saward, several individuals closely tied to Christian Horner could potentially leave Red Bull by activating clauses in their contracts. If they do so, they might not even be obligated to observe a gardening leave period before starting work at other teams.