Helmut Marko breaks silence on Christian Horner's Red Bull sacking as reason clear

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has said that the team's poor performance this season was the main factor behind the decision to sack Christian Horner. On July 9, the team principal was dismissed from his role after 20 years at the helm and was immediately replaced by Laurent Mekies.

The announcement came just three days after the British Grand Prix, the last race before the summer break. Max Verstappen finished third at Silverstone, with Yuki Tsunoda failing to register any points. That left the Dutchman 69 points off the overall leader, Oscar Piastri, in the drivers' standings with Red Bull fourth in the Constructors' race.

Marko, who oversees the Red Bull driver development programme, has been notably quiet since Horner departed. The sacking followed an ongoing power struggle between the pair behind the scenes, but the Austrian has now broken his silence and insisted the decicision was not down to him.

"The decision was made by Oliver Mintzlaff (managing director of Red Bull GmbH)" he said. "We informed Christian Horner of this on Tuesday in London after the Silverstone race, at the same time officially thanking him for these 20 years and for these eight World Championship titles."

Adding results were behind the decision, Marko, 82, also confirmed Mekies would be stepping into a different role. He said: "This was the result of various factors, but above all, the performance wasn't quite as good as it could have been.

"Fortunately, we were able to bring Laurent Mekies into the family. His responsibilities will be significantly reduced, with the main focus being on racing."

Red Bull have been plagued by turmoil in the last 18 months. Adrian Newey, widely perceived to be the greatest designer in F1 history, has joined Aston Martin, while sporting director Jonathan Wheatley has left for Sauber.

Last year, Horner was cleared of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee following an internal investigation. A subsequent appeal was also dismissed, and the saga is said to have had no bearing on this month's decision.