While the reason for Horner's ousting has not been revealed, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has pointed out that performance concerns led to his exit, and that the decision was taken by the managing director of Red Bull GmbH, Oliver Mintzlaff. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed that Christian Horner ‘was the first one to text’ him after he was called up to replace the long-serving boss ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. The duo then spoke again via SMS on the morning of media day at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Heading into the Belgian GP, Red Bull is 288 points behind Constructors' Championship leader McLaren, and Verstappen's dreams of scoring a fifth successive Drivers' Championship crown are hanging by a thread. With a critical regulation change incoming for the 2026 season, Red Bull's status as an F1 powerhouse is under significant threat.