The 52-year-old was dismissed as the chief executive and team principal in July 2025 after two decades at the helm, following an internal power struggle and a decline in team performance.

Mr Horner said: "It felt particularly brutal and sad to finish in that manner.

"But I now have a reasonable relationship with Oliver Mintzlaff [the CEO of corporate projects at Red Bull].

"He rang the other day and thanked me for all I’d done for the engine.

"It was very strange because that group became your extended family.

"So the tears on grown men’s faces was deeply moving."

Mr Horner’s exit came a year after he was cleared of misconduct following a texting scandal involving a female employee.

He has always denied the claims and was twice cleared by Red Bull’s internal investigations.

The scandal involved the leak of intimate messages and photographs ahead of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.

He said his dismissal was unrelated to the texting allegations and was "more focused on performance and the future."

His departure was further overshadowed by personal loss.

Mr Horner revealed that his ex-wife, Beverley Allen, died from eye cancer just a week before he left Red Bull.

He said: "I didn’t really process it [my departure] until a month later because, in the immediate aftermath, I focused on supporting my daughter through a hideous period."

Mr Horner shared a daughter, Olivia, with Ms Allen.

He said: "The last two years had been pretty tough but it was a particularly sensitive time, with the bereavement of my daughter’s mum the previous week.

"I had an 11-year-old child grieving her mother.

"Nothing was more important than that."

Despite the circumstances, Mr Horner admitted to feeling a sense of "relief" following his departure.

He also praised the support of his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.

He said: "My wife was a pillar of support throughout and I just had to believe in the process."

During his 20-year tenure at Red Bull, Mr Horner led the team to six constructors’ championships and oversaw four consecutive drivers’ titles each for Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

But, things became more difficult after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.

Mateschitz had always been a big supporter of Horner, but the 52-year-old then appeared to be regularly undermined by Helmut Marko, a key consultant for Red Bull, and Jos Verstappen, father of Max, amid a power struggle at the team.