CHRISTIAN HORNER 'IT CAME AS A SHOCK'

GERI HALLIWELL STANDS BY HER MAN AS THE F1 POWERHOUSE IS OUSTED FROM RED BULL AFTER 20 YEARS

- Sara Tapia

As Christian Horner stepped up to address the thousand-strong Red Bull workforce at their Milton Keynes headquarters on July 7, the normally stoic and composed team principal of the six-time Teams' World Championship-winning outfit was anything but.

"Yesterday, I was informed by Red Bull that operationally I would no longer be involved with the business or the team moving forward," the 51-year-old told his colleagues, some of whom he has worked with since the F1 giant's inception in 2005, as he attempted to hold back tears. "I will still remain employed by the company but, operationally, the baton will be handed over."

With the news sending shockwaves through the Red Bull ranks - and, when it became public, the entire racing community - Horner noted how he was also in disbelief over being ousted from the company he had worked hard to help build from the ground up during his two-decade-long tenure.