Red Bull Hit by Double Setback as Horner Event Is Cancelled and Chief Designer Steps Down
Red Bull Racing have been dealt a double blow ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season after a planned Australian speaking tour by former team boss Christian Horner was cancelled and long-serving chief designer Craig Skinner chose to leave the team.
Horner had been due to return to the public spotlight through a series of live fan events across Australia, built around stories from his career in Formula 1 and leadership at the top level of the sport. The shows were designed as interactive evenings featuring audience Q&A sessions and behind-the-scenes insights. Stops were scheduled in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, with the final date set just days before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. However, the entire tour has now reportedly been scrapped, removing what would have been a high-profile appearance run just before the new campaign begins.
The cancellation comes at an awkward time for the Milton Keynes-based squad, who are already preparing for a major regulation shift in 2026. Horner’s appearances were expected to generate strong fan interest and media attention, but those plans have now been dropped without a detailed public explanation, prompting speculation about changing priorities behind the scenes.
Alongside that development, the team are also losing an important technical figure. Skinner, who has spent nearly two decades with the organization, is stepping away after serving as chief designer since 2022. He played a central role in shaping several successful car projects and worked closely with senior technical leaders including Adrian Newey and Pierre Wache. His design leadership contributed to one of the team’s most dominant recent challengers, the RB19, which set performance standards across the grid during its competitive run.
Skinner’s departure is understood to be a personal decision, but the timing is significant. Losing a chief designer on the eve of a new technical era can disrupt development flow and concept continuity, especially when early design direction is critical under fresh rules.
With both a cancelled high-profile Horner tour and the exit of a senior design leader, Red Bull head into the 2026 season facing unexpected off-track challenges. The focus now turns to how effectively the team restructures responsibilities and maintains its competitive edge under the sport’s new regulations.
