Horner's departure comes after Verstappen qualified on pole for the British Grand Prix despite a car that he fought all weekend. Verstappen was passed for the lead by Oscar Piastri early in the race and spun from second on a wet restart before coming back to finish fifth.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner has been sacked by the Formula One giants. The husband of former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell, survived in his role team principal last year after he was cleared of coercive behaviour towards his colleague. Horner was twice cleared during internal investigations of wrongdoing.