The father of the woman at the centre of the Christian Horner sex text scandal has welcomed the Red Bull team principal’s sacking, insisting “that the right thing has happened” as the 51-year-old was dramatically released from his duties after 20 years at the helm.
Horner’s dismissal brings down the curtain on an illustrious stint which saw him deliver eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships, making him Formula One’s longest-serving team principal. But his reign ended in controversy, a year after explosive WhatsApp messages allegedly sent to a female employee rocked the F1 paddock.
Speaking at his home, the father of the woman involved told MailOnline: “I’ve read the news and the right thing has happened. It’s been all over the news and people know what took place.
Female Employee No Longer at Red Bull
The father also revealed his daughter is no longer working at Red Bull, though he declined to elaborate on her current situation. “You’ll have to find out for yourself, I don’t want to go into details but she’s not involved with them,” he said when pressed about whether she remains in Formula One.
Red Bull issued a brief statement Wednesday morning confirming the news: “Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today, Wednesday 9 July 2025, and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing.
While the team provided no official reason for Horner’s departure, his abrupt dismissal after two decades has immediately prompted speculation that his sex text scandal has finally caught up with him.
Scandal That Never Went Away
The crisis erupted last year after a complaint of inappropriate behaviour was made against Horner by a younger female colleague. Just hours after Red Bull dismissed the formal complaint, a cache of 79 leaked messages suggested he had pestered the colleague for photos and bombarded her with flirty comments.
Screenshots of alleged WhatsApp messages between Horner and the Red Bull employee were leaked anonymously the day after a three-week investigation, carried out externally, cleared him of all allegations. The messages were emailed to 149 F1 figures and then shared across various platforms.
Horner vehemently denied the claims throughout and survived accusations of coercive behaviour towards his colleague – being twice cleared in internal investigations of wrongdoing. But the scandal refused to go away.
Geri’s ‘Meltdown of All Meltdowns’
Horner’s former Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell, 52, stood by her husband after the accusations emerged, though she reportedly “read Christian the riot act” after the intimate messages surfaced.
The pop icon is said to have endured “the meltdown of all meltdowns” after the tranche of “humiliating” messages were leaked as she jetted into the Middle East for last season’s opening race in Bahrain on a private jet.
Mumsnet users described the messages as “sleazy,” with one writing that they “give me the creeps.” Another described the exchanges as “humiliating” for Halliwell, adding “I really feel for her.” Others were more direct, describing the messages as “grim” and “pathetic.”
Team Torn Apart by Internal Strife
According to insiders, the team never recovered from the controversy which was followed by months of internal disputes and declining form on the race track. Horner’s dramatic sacking comes amid claims the F1 chief’s “ongoing personal issues” had become “a burden to the team.
The most divisive result of the sexting scandal was a major falling out with world champion driver Max Verstappen, who is said to be considering his future with Red Bull. In the wake of the sexual harassment allegations, the driver’s father Jos warned that the team was “in danger of being torn apart” if Horner stayed in his role.
Since then, the pair have reportedly been at loggerheads, with the latest clash allegedly happening during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone at the weekend where Verstappen could only finish in fifth place.
Key Personnel Exodus
In the months since the scandal, Red Bull has lost key senior personnel and an internal power struggle is said to have led to a series of crisis meetings behind the scenes.
The team has hemorrhaged talent including design genius Adrian Newey, designer Rob Marshall, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. Strategy chief Will Courtenay is set to join McLaren at the end of the season.
Netflix Captured Immediate Reaction
Netflix’s most recent series of its hugely-successful Drive to Survive programme revealed Horner’s immediate reaction to the bombshell news of the alleged texts being leaked.
“The higher you rise, the sharper the knives,” he said on camera. “I’ve reached the top of my game and I never thought in a million years I’d have a challenge like this in my career.”
“You can either hide away or you can get out there and face it,” Horner continued in the documentary footage.
Sporting Decline Sealed His Fate
On the track, Horner defiantly responded to the scandal by helping Verstappen deliver a fourth-successive world championship in 2024, although Red Bull fell short of the constructors’ title to rivals McLaren.
That appeared to be the beginning of the end of Red Bull’s sporting dominance, with McLaren now 288 points ahead of them in the constructors’ standings for the 2025 season. With results poor and Verstappen unhappy with progress, Horner has now paid the price.
His £12million-a-year job was secured by support from the Thai majority owners of Red Bull, but that seems to have worn out after the team slumped to fourth place halfway through 2025.
Mekies Takes the Reins
Laurent Mekies will take over the duties of CEO at Red Bull Racing, with Alan Permane, currently Racing Director, to be promoted to Team Principal at Racing Bulls.
Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO Corporate Projects and Investments, thanked Horner for his work: “We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years. 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 One.”
“Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history,” Mintzlaff added.
Uncertain Future for Red Bull
Horner had been at the top of the team since its inception in 2005, leading them through two phases of world championship success with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
But with the team in crisis and Verstappen’s future uncertain, Mekies faces an enormous challenge. He said: “The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter. It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people.”
Red Bull’s PR department is being sidelined in this debacle, with an email directing all media inquiries to their parent energy drinks company in Austria, suggesting the decision came from the very top of the organization.
The man who built Red Bull into a championship-winning machine has ultimately been brought down by a scandal that refused to go away and a team that lost its competitive edge when it mattered most.
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