Red Bull severs Christian Horner ties as Austrian influence grows
Some of the final links between Christian Horner and Red Bull have been severed, with the ex-F1 team boss officially removed as a director of the organisation.
His place has been taken by Stefan Salzer, Red Bull GmbH’s global head of human resources.
Christian Horner has been officially replaced as Red Bull director
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher.
Documents filed with Companies House in the United Kingdom confirm that Horner’s tenure at the head of Red Bull Racing is now officially over.
While he was unceremoniously dumped in the days following the British Grand Prix, he admitted in his own exit speech to staff that he remained a Red Bull employee – one without an operational role.
As part of that, he remained listed as the director of both Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology Limited, the latter the holding company for the F1 operation.
He has now been removed from his director roles in both companies, though that does not necessarily mean he is no longer a Red Bull employee – something which does remain pertinent as a major consideration for Red Bull, as the F1 financial regulations exclude the three highest-paid employees from a reporting group from the budget cap.
If Horner does still remain an employee, albeit one off operational duties, it’s therefore likely that he is still being accounted for within this trio of reported personnel, while, if he’s not, Laurent Mekies would very likely jump into this trio – if he’s not there already. Either way, Horner remaining employed would block off one of these three reportable positions, directly impacting Red Bull’s financial reporting for the budget cap rules for F1 2025.
Horner was appointed a director of Red Bull Racing in March 2007, alongside Helmut Marko as the only other active director – until today.
In the Technologies business, Horner became a director in 2010, with finance director Alistair Rew the only other active member (the 62-year-old is also a director of several other Red Bull F1-related businesses).
However, a new name has now been added to both businesses: Stefan Salzer.
The Austrian was appointed to both Red Bull Technology and Red Bull Racing on July 8, the Monday following the British Grand Prix and a day prior to Horner’s sacking.
The changes mean Red Bull Racing’s two directors are now Salzer and team adviser Helmut Marko.
Salzer is Red Bull GmbH’s global head of HR and is based out of its Salzburg office in Austria.
He joined Red Bull in 2007, following a stint with BP. He briefly served as a director of Red Bull Racing in the early months of the team’s life in 2005.
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While the development merely ties up some administrative loose ends for the F1 team, it is also marks the severance of ties with the man who delivered eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ crowns.
Horner has kept a low profile since exiting the paddock despite being linked with a hasty return.
That included suggestions he could team up with Bernie Ecclestone to acquire the Alpine F1 team, a move multiple sources have told is far from reality.
For a time, Horner was also touted as a potential replacement for Fred Vasseur at Ferrari, though the Scuderia has put that to bed by extending the Frenchman’s current contract.
The 51-year-old is expected to return to the paddock at some point, likely holding an ownership stake in a team, much as Toto Wolff does with Mercedes; the Austrian is a third owner of the organisation.
With multiple changes made across the slew of Red Bull companies operated under Red Bull Technology, here are the updated directors’ lists for each company.
- Red Bull Technology Ltd. (Holding company): Stefan Salzer and Alistair Rew.
- Red Bull Racing: Helmut Marko and Stefan Salzer.
- Red Bull Powertrains: Helmut Marko and Alistair Rew.
- Red Bull Advanced Technologies: Helmut Marko and Alistair Rew.
- Red Bull Advanced Services: Helmut Marko and Alistair Red.
has approached Red Bull GmbH for clarification of Christian Horner’s employment status within Red Bull Technology and Red Bull Racing.
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