Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing has sacked Christian Horner as the team principal and chief executive after 20 years in charge, it said in a statement Wednesday.
Horner was the longest serving and among the most successful team leaders in Formula 1 history, having been with Red Bull since its inception in 2005 and leading the team to 124 wins.
While the team did not give a reason for Horner’s termination, the statement said that he has been released from “his operational duties” with effect from Wednesday. It added that Laurent Mekies, the principal of sister team Racing Bulls, would replace him.
Thanking Horner, Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s chief executive of corporate projects and investments, said in the statement that he would “forever remain an important part of our team history.”
“With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1,” Mintzlaff added.
NBC News has reached out to Horner via social media for comment.
His dismissal comes just over a year after he was accused of misconduct toward a team employee. An investigation conducted on behalf of the Red Bull company dismissed the allegation, as did a further investigation conducted after the employee appealed against the initial ruling, Red Bull said at the time.
Horner, who oversaw eight F1 drivers’ titles — four for Sebastian Vettel and four for Max Verstappen — and six constructors’ titles during his time with the team, remained in charge throughout the investigation and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
“Obviously, there’s been an awful lot of coverage surrounding this, but one has to go back to the basis of this. A grievance was raised, it was fully investigated, and it was dismissed. And from there, we move onwards,” Horner said last year.
The team’s form has nonetheless dipped this season although though defending champion Verstappen remains third in the standings and the team is fourth.
