Bernie Ecclestone didn’t mince his words when addressing Christian Horner’s past controversy, labelling him an “idiot” amid his Formula 1 exit from Red Bull.
The 51-year-old was relieved of his duties this week following a combination of factors, including the team’s declining on-track performance, contentious second-driver decisions, and a reported erosion of trust within Max Verstappen’s camp.
The situation was compounded by a series of high-profile departures, most notably that of Technical Director Adrian Newey and ex-Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley.
These exits followed the controversy that engulfed Horner in February 2024, when a female Red Bull employee accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
An internal investigation – conducted by an external lawyer – ultimately found no wrongdoing on Horner’s part, though the findings of the report remain confidential.
The day after the controversy broke, F1 journalists received an anonymous email titled “Christian Horner investigation evidence”, which contained a Google Drive link featuring alleged WhatsApp exchanges between Horner and the complainant. The case is scheduled to be heard by a UK labour judge in January 2026.
“This business that he got involved with 18 months ago, he was just an idiot,” Ecclestone told The Telegraph on Thursday.
“He was a 50-year-old who thought he was 20, thought he was one of the boys.”
He expressed little sympathy for the woman at the centre of the complaint, continuing a pattern of unflattering comments Ecclestone has made about women over the years.
“I often wonder, when these situations happen, why if the girl is so upset with the advances of someone, they don’t just say, ‘Oi you, stop it,’” he added.
Horner’s all-encompassing role drew internal scrutiny
Following his dismissal, questions have been raised over the internal dynamics at Red Bull and the extent of Horner’s control at the team’s Milton Keynes base.
Ecclestone went on to suggest that the Briton’s far-reaching influence became a growing concern for key figures at the Austrian company.
He added: “It would probably have been better if they had said, ‘Come in, Christian, sit down’.
“But the bottom line is that there are people there who thought he was getting away with things, that he was acting as if it was not the Red Bull Ring, but the Christian Horner Ring.
“He got away with so many things, and all the time you’re delivering, people close their eyes.
“But when you stop delivering, people start looking – one or two begin thinking, ‘Well, I could do a better job.’”
Ecclestone also pointed to the shift in power following the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, suggesting the structure became increasingly muddled.
“Genuinely, it was a little bit of a muddle,” he highlighted. “Christian was the Chief Executive – if I’m the Chief Executive of a company, I want to be in charge.
“I want to do all the things that I think are right, and if I’m wrong, they can fire me.
“But the minute Christian can’t be in that position to do what he thinks should be done, then for him it’s not easy.
“You can’t half-manage something; you only really need one person.”
Horner’s desire for control hastened his exit, says ex-F1 owner
Ecclestone also claimed that Horner’s desire to oversee both sporting and commercial operations may ultimately have contributed to his downfall.
“I know it was suggested to him he should be a team manager and leave the commercial side to somebody else,” the 94-year-old explained.
“His idea was, ‘I am the chief executive.’ [But] you get very few executives who can do everything, from engineering to public relations.
“He had been running the company the way he thought it should be run. For a long time, people were prepared to say, ‘OK, fair enough, he’s getting the job done.’
“But as soon as you go off a little bit, people look and say, ‘Hang on.’ Christian won a lot of championships. He was used to winning.
“So it’s not easy when you’re not winning – and when you know that it’s not entirely your fault.”
READ MORE – ‘Like he’s murdered somebody’ – Ex-F1 owner questions sudden Christian Horner departure
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