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:

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has opened up on the lesser-known details of Christian Horner's exit and if the departure has affected him in any way. The four-time world champion confirmed that he knew about Horner's ousting in advance, revealing that the Red Bull management decided to follow an alternate approach.