Christian Horner spoke of his shock at being sacked as Red Bull boss in an emotional farewell to his staff on Wednesday.
Sky Sports television ran a video clip of the gathering at the Milton Keynes factory with the tearful 51-year-old addressing the team for the last time as principal.
"Yesterday I was informed by Red Bull that operationally I would no longer be involved with the business or the team moving forward from after this gathering," he said.
"I will still remain employed by the company, but operationally the baton will be handed over. And that obviously came as a shock.
"What I have had time to do is to reflect over the last 12 hours or so, and I wanted to stand in front of all of you and just express my gratitude to each and every single member of the team that has given so much during the last 20 and a half years."
Horner recalled how, after Red Bull took over the Jaguar team in 2005, he had walked into two run-down buildings and began working towards building what became a powerhouse in Formula 1.
"Watching and being part of this team has been the biggest privilege in my life," he said, to applause from the assembled employees.
During his 20 years at Red Bull, Horner oversaw six constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships.
In a post on Instagram, he wrote of his "immense pride" at growing a team "from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse."
"After an incredible journey of twenty years together, it is with a heavy heart that today I say goodbye to the Team I have absolutely loved. Every one of you, the amazing people at the factory, have been the heart and soul of everything that we have achieved," he wrote.
"Win and lose, every step of the way, we have stood by each other as one and I will never forget that. It's been a privilege being part of and leading this epic Team and I am so proud of our collective accomplishments and you all."