Christian Horner twice transformed Red Bull into Formula One's dominant team over his two decades in charge but he was unceremoniously axed on Wednesday amid declining fortunes and internal disputes.

A Red Bull team whose time at the top was clearly ending — Max Verstappen won just two of 14 races to end last season — and a draining spell early last year when he was cleared of inappropriate behavior toward a woman team member should have rung alarm bells for the 51-year-old.

Instead, just as he did when those allegations emerged in February 2024, Horner carried on working in the hope he could reignite another period of dominance.