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.

Christian Horner’s long tenure as Red Bull Racing team principal came to an abrupt end in July, marking the close of a two-decade spell in charge. The team didn’t provide any specifics for the decision,