Since Christian Horner’s unexpected sacking, there has been tons of speculation about what went on behind closed doors. There has been a power struggle in Red Bull ever since Dietrich Mateschitz’s death over two years ago, which many believe was the first in a long line of dominoes that resulted in Horner’s dismissal.
One of those believers is Riccardo Patrese, a former Formula 1 driver. In a recent interview, he revealed he’s heard that the Thai side, which owned 51% of Red Bull, sold 2% of the company to the Austrian side, which owned 49% before the sale and now owns the majority of the company. But are those rumours true?
Who really owns the majority of Red Bull?
Patrese said that he heard Christian Horner was only still with Red Bull because the Thais owned the majority, but once the sale was completed, the Austrian side took little time dismissing the long-time team principal.
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“I heard that Horner was there because the Thais owned 51% and they backed Horner. But two or three days ago before Horner was sacked, I think the Thai people sold two more percent of the company to the Austrian,” Patrese told Prime Casino in an exclusive interview. “So, the Austrians now have the majority.”
But is this true? A report by Motorsport-Total.com has revealed the sale may not have shifted the balance of power in Red Bull. The 2% may not have even left the Thais’ hands at all.
The report shows that 2% of Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of the F1 team, was transferred from Chalerm Yoovidhya to a Swiss trust company called Fides Trustees SA. While there’s no official confirmation, the research done by Motorsport-Total.com strengthens their belief that the 2% remains in the hands of the Thais.
The belief is that, even with Yoovidhya still potentially controlling 51% of the company, he placed the 2% share in Fides so in the case of a deadlock decision between the Thai and Austrian sides, Fides could act as an impartial guide to “provide guidance” to the shareholders.
The report notes it’s unclear whether or not Fides played a role in Horner’s sacking, but admits the timing of the sale – five weeks before Horner’s dismissal – is interesting.
Red Bull’s investigation of Horner may have been the catalyst for the 2% sale
In an interview with Formel1.de, Ralph Schumacher revealed Christian Horner changed after Mateschitz’s death, citing he gained power and started behaving “differently” than in previous years.
Once the investigation into Horner, which Schumacher called “a dirty campaign,” began in 2024, it exposed just how divided the Red Bull camp was.
“Someone tried to force Horner out, and that went too far…what actually happened back then was a dirty campaign.”
The shareholders took notice of the team’s image, which portrayed a company divided in two. The report believes the 2% transfer was an effort from both the Thai and Austrian sides to stabilise the company in the wake of the disagreements about Horner’s future.
We may not ever know exactly why Horner was fired, but there’s strong evidence to show that, even with the mysterious 2% sale, it likely wasn’t a coup by the Austrian side.
