Heroics Into Saint Devote

Hello and welcome back to Heroics Into Saint Devote! On the cards this week is less news than usual, but some serious changes in the F1 paddock are adrift. Let’s jump straight in shall we?

Formula One

On Wednesday morning (09/07/25), it was announced that Christian Horner will be leaving Red Bull GmBH and Red Bull Racing with immediate effect. It became apparent that the 51-year-old had been relieved of his Team Principal duties of the multiple-world championship-winning team, though the details of his dismissal remain private. Of course there is speculation behind this move by Red Bull, some believe it’s due to on-going, behind-the-scenes investigations and processes into last year’s controversy which saw Horner accused of ‘controlling and coercive’ behavior towards a female employee, and supposedly sending explicit messages to said employee, via Whatsapp.

At the time the news broke, an anonymous email was sent to every famous face in the F1 Paddock, be it media, team bosses or anybody else. The email contained a Google Document which had around 100 screenshots of a Whatsapp conversation, allegedly from Christian Horner to a female employee. Some messages were explicit and inappropriate in their nature, and one supposedly contained a photograph of Horner’s appendage. It was never confirmed whether the photos were legitimate, and after an internal investigation with external barristers, Horner was cleared of any wrong-doing. The employee then appealed the decision, and her appeal was dismissed. She was later suspended from Red Bull with pay after it was found she was ‘dishonest’ in her claims.

Despite Horner surviving the controversy, a power-struggle ensued inside Red Bull Racing, with Horner, Jos Verstappen (father of Max Verstappen) and Doctor Helmut Marko. Some speculate that this power struggle may have started even earlier, at the tragic passing of Red Bull founder Deitrich Mateschitz. During the 2022 United States Grand Prix, there was confusion among the paddock when every Red Bull Racing employee was seen rushing to their hospitality unit. People speculated it was to do with Red Bull’s cost-cap breach in 2021, but it was to announce the passing of the company owner. Some fans and media personnel believe this was the turning point and the moment where things changed for Red Bull. It was no secret that Horner and Verstappen (Jos) did not get along well, despite Jos Verstappen not being in an official position at Red Bull for years.

After axing Sergio Perez at the end of 2024, Horner made the executive decision to promote Liam Lawson to the senior team, a decision which backfired terribly and caused the Kiwi to be demoted again after just 2 races. Mere minutes after the announcement of Horner’s departure, another announcement was made, stating that Visa Cashapp Racing Bulls boss Laurent Meikes would be Horner’s replacement, despite only being at RB for a year. Alan Parmane has also been announced to replace Meikes at Racing Bulls.

Now. Some believe Horner’s dismissal is a last-ditch effort by Red Bull to keep Verstappen (Max) onside and with the team into 2026, despite being contracted till 2028. This is amid the Verstappen-Mercedes turmoil. Though it is also believable that the dismissal comes after the team’s lack of performance in the 2025 season. 2024 saw the real rise of Mclaren, seeing the Woking-based team take the constructor’s championship over Ferrari in the final race in Abu Dhabi, with Red Bull not featuring in the top 2. This year, Red Bull doesn’t even feature in the top 3, with Mercedes taking that space.

It remains to be seen what happens to Horner after his Red Bull exit, but in a speech he gave at Milton Keynes, which was leaked to Sky Sports F1, Horner sounded devastated and surprised by the decision. But after other high-profile names and faces left the team for pastures new, it seemed both surprising but also inevitable. Legendary aero designer Adrian Newey, as well as sporting director Johnathan Wheatley were among those names.

But here at Heroics Into Saint Devote, we sympathise with Horner. And despite his controversies, there is no doubt that Horner has cemented his place in the history of both Red Bull Racing and Formula One after his 20 year tenure as Team Principal and CEO. In 20 years, Horner oversaw 124 races. And to put that into perspective, Ferrari have doubled this number, but in nearly 4 times as many years in the championship (75). Horner saw 8 World Driver’s Championships and 6 World Constructor’s Championships come back to Milton Keynes. He was a polarising character in the paddock, with people either loving or hating him, but he wasn’t afraid to put himself forward to challenge the titans of Mercedes and Mclaren.

World Endurance Championship.

Upcoming is the fifth race in the WEC championship this year. The race will take place in Brazil at the Interlagos circuit. But it sees Ferrari take a ‘triple hit’ on their 499P with the updated BoP (Balance of Performance) changes. The car will gain 12 kilograms of weight, lose 9KW of power and lose 4MJ of energy. Alpine is also the only car to gain weight (8kg) and lose power (8kw). The Toyota GR010 Hybrid’s weight remains the same as Spa, but also gains 5KW of power for this race. Though the AMR Valkyrie and Peugeot 9X8 remain the most powerful cars at 520KW, and the lightest at 1030kg. Cadillac see the biggest power gains, with a bonus 15KW of power, bringing their total to 516KW.

Goodwood.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed starts today, so to those who are there, have a fantastic time, hydrate plenty and use plenty of suncream.

Aside from these three stories, there really isn’t much worth writing about folks. This was quick and easy. So we’ll bid you farewell till next time. Oh and just as a PSA, we’re working on the British Grand Prix Review, but with our Lead Content Editor fighting a stomach bug and one of our Content Creators working a real job, we’re struggling for time. But it will be out.

See you soon.