Horner, Marko departures won’t derail Red Bull, says CEO Mintzlaff

The significant management overhaul at Red Bull that led to Christian Horner (main image) and Helmut Marko departing the team this year is not a risk for the future, according to Oliver Mintzlaff.

Horner was removed from his position as team principal and CEO of the Formula 1 team in July, while Marko’s departure was confirmed after the final race of the season. The pair had been involved since Red Bull first entered F1 two decades ago, but Mintzlaff – who is CEO of corporate projects and new investments at Red Bull GmbH – says change at the top was required.

“I wouldn’t call [sacking Horner] a risk, because we were 100% behind this measure,” Mintzlaff told De Telegraaf. “We knew we had to do something. I’m not a so-called hire-and-fire manager, someone who fires people just like that.

“Christian has a great track record with the team and has achieved a lot of success. Everyone here in the company, myself included, appreciates him for what he has done. But this is also part of being a professional organization. You can’t keep relying on history and we felt it was time to turn the page and start a new chapter. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we didn’t rush into it either.”

Mintzlaff rarely speaks publicly about the F1 team, and while distancing himself from comments attributed to Marko – who was quoted in another Dutch publication, De Limburger, as claiming “Horner was lying about all sorts of things” – he said the end of such a spell of managerial stability should not be seen as a negative.

“Those words about Christian are Helmut’s responsibility,” he said. “I can’t say anything negative about Christian, simply because he has meant a lot to Red Bull. But there always comes a time when things aren’t going well and then, as a company, you have to make a decision.

“Are you going to give someone more time, or is it time for a new leader? We felt it was time for a change. Christian and Helmut have worked together wonderfully for years, since the start in 2005, so we’re talking about more than 20 years.

“Give me a few examples of other large sports organizations where the leadership team has remained the same for so long. So you can view it very negatively that they are both gone now. But I would say that it is unique that they have been here together for so long and achieved so much. Sometimes you just need a change to shake things up.”