It is thought that a shift in the shareholding of Red Bull's parent company may have cleared the way for Christian Horner's shock sacking.

In the aftermath of news breaking of the scandal that ultimately led to Horner's downfall at Red Bull, it was clear the Austrian side of the company, and Jos Verstappen, wanted him out.

However, Horner was able to rely on the support of Chaleo Yoovidhya, the original co-founder, along with Dietrich Mateschitz of the Red Bull company.

Mateschitz and Yoovidhya both held 49% of Red Bull GmbH, while Yoovidhya's son, Chalerm, held the all-important 2% that decided who had control.

According to Motorsportweek.com, documents filed in Austria have revealed that earlier this year Chalerm gave up his 2% stake which was subsequently bought by a Swiss investment company Fides Trustees.

The power had shifted, thereby allowing the Austrian faction, which had long been unhappy with Horner's growing influence within all areas of the F1 team, not to mention the fact that the outfit, to all intents and purposes, was oriented towards Britain and not Austria, to finally rid itself of the man who could no longer rely on the protection of Yoovidhya.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 15 hours ago

"@Max Noble.....Oliver Meatloaff was simply jealous!."

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2. Posted by ffracer, 16 hours ago

"This seems more plausible... but Horner's legal background and all of his gag orders keep all of this cloaked in secrecy. The sexting scandal
and his handling of drivers and vital department geniuses that separated RB from the rest - Newey and all the key engineers, strategists and staff in this massive exodus- ultimately, Max's management finally grasping the exit clause loophole, sparking the Austrian 51% to pull the ripchord on Horner's RB squirrel suit sending him plummeting from the RB stratosphere?

Sadly, we might never be allowed to know the truth. What we do know is that, for twenty years, Christian Horner was the de facto team principal, hated by all competitors because he waltzed into press conferences and TV interviews, like a peacock, and called everyone out on their failures- "fix your f@&$%no car!" will go down in infamy lol - because he could back it up. He was the one associated with steering the big ship, bringing a broken Stewart GP/Ford/Jaguar GP who couldn't operate a wheel gun to within a couple of years, wins and then 8 WDCs and more WCCs and two dynasties... until he felt invincible. Just speculation, but it seemed as though his self imposed aura in the pit lane became a force field... like no one wanted to be next to him. With all the key figures and their massive exodus, his fall from grace seemed inevitable. A shame that the lights on this brilliant RB career, that at one time spearheaded the greatest band of genius engineers, strategists and marketing campaigns that we were privileged to watch and hear like some of the greatest orchestras playing out of Milton Keynes... and commissioned by the Austrian RB Royalty. I sincerely hope that we get to witness the next exciting chapter of Christian Horner, a more humble and gracious one, as
the RB chapters were not scripted by chance. "

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3. Posted by Max Noble, 19 hours ago

"Nah. The Austrian’s finally admitted they simply could not listen to The Spice Girls every Christmas Party. Horner refused to reset his Spotify play list… so bam! Straight out the door. Remember the simplest explanation is often the correct one… ;-)
"

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4. Posted by Hobgoblin, 21 hours ago

"Whilst I don't particularly like the man, there is no denying his achievements. To see it all thrown away for what appears to be internal politics is a waste - and quite frankly, I hope it comes back to bite them.

I suspect that there is more to it than we will ever know, and there are the questions over his behaviour last year. More to come methinks."

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Did control shift at Red Bull GmbH spark Horner firing?

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