Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen 'in explosive row' days before Red Bull sacking

Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen were reportedly involved in a heated row days before the Red Bull boss was axed.

On Wednesday, shock news emerged that Horner has been sacked by Red Bull after 20 years with the team.

Horner led the team to six constructors' championships and eight drivers' world titles.

The Milton Keynes-based team acted quickly as they appointed Laurent Mekies as the new CEO.

Frenchman Mekies has been promoted from his role as team principal at Red Bull sister team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

Days before the sacking became public, it was claimed that Horner and Verstappen, who is the father of star driver Max, were involved in a heated discussion.

As reported by GP Blog, things got heated between the pair and now, Ralf Schumacher has also picked up on it.

Christian Horner has been axed by Red Bull. Image: Getty

He said in the Boxengasse-podcast: "There was another argument or a heated exchange, at least visually and verbally between Jos Verstappen, Christian Horner, and the press officer. You could see that Jos was anything but happy with the situation.

"But I understand it too. For me, Christian Horner is also a bit of a difficult person. I have to say that. He just failed to keep the team together well, which is not always easy, of course. But I also think his behavior now, I can only refer to myself, but he can't really deal with criticism."

Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix. Image: Getty

Schumacher also added that Horner opted against speaking to him.

He said: "We are, or I am, now, on a so-called black list, so he no longer talks to us or with me and such. It's actually a joke, because a man who has won so much should actually be able to discuss it in front of the camera.

"But I think our viewers are interested in that. What exactly is happening? Why is it so? But he is clearly not that great in the true sense of the word, unfortunately. You now see that within the team, too. They had a barbecue the day before, but of course there was also the success in qualifying, those kinds of things. But that has now faded away."

According to a report by ESPN, the atmosphere within the Red Bull team was becoming tense.

It has been suggested that a series of meetings took place over the past two weekends and that at least one of those involved Max Verstappen and director Oliver Mintzlaff, with the latter said to have been pushing for a change of leadership for some time.

Formula 1 will return at the end of July with the Belgian Grand Prix, taking place around the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.