In the final months of his tenure, the ousted Red Bull boss Christian Horner reportedly attempted to micromanage nearly every department and division within the team.
Horner always craved the spotlight, and his 'villain' role in Drive to Survive certainly appealed to him. However, following the end of Red Bull's dominance in the ground effect car era, this behavior began to seriously irk the team's owners.
Under Horner's leadership, Red Bull secured 14 world titles over 20 years – 8 Drivers' Championships and 6 Constructors' Championships – cementing Christian's legacy as one of Formula 1's most successful team principals.
“The most characteristic aspect of Horner towards the end of his time at Red Bull was his desire to consolidate as much power as possible and meddle everywhere,” explained journalist Nate Saunders, citing anonymous team sources. “The main negative effect was Horner interfering in engineering discussions and decisions without the necessary background.”
“Christian was a fantastic team manager and leader; one of his greatest strengths was always delegating tasks to people who were better than him in specific areas.”
“But in the end, he became too involved in topics and tasks where he lacked experience or the required knowledge.”