F1: Red Bull fires Christian Horner after 20 years at the helm of the team

(With information from AFP) Austrian Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing made official the dismissal of Christian Horner as team boss, naming Laurent Mekies as his replacement.

The British boss was at the helm of Red Bull Racing for the past two decades, a period in which the team won six constructors' and eight drivers' world titles (four by Sebastian Vettel and another four by Max Verstappen).

"We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years. With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history," wrote Oliver Mintzlaff, the Austrian team's CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments, in a communiqué.

This decision comes after months in which the team's performance has declined, surpassed by McLaren in the constructors' standings last year, and amid internal conflicts mainly because of accusations against Horner and strained relations with Verstappen and his father.

Also in recent months, Red Bull's legendary engineer, Adrian Newey, the architect behind their championship-winning cars, also left for a rival team, Aston Martin.