The 3 key questions facing Red Bull F1 after the shocking Christian Horner move

10/07/2025 18:31

After Christian Horner's exit at Red Bull, what are the main questions facing the team and new boss Laurent Mekies

As the dust settles from a dramatic day in Formula 1, it is time to look ahead.

Christian Horner is out at Red Bull, having been sacked as Team Principal and forced to hand over "operational" control of the team after 20 years in that role. Stepping in at the top of the team is Laurent Mekies, who spent the last season-plus as the Team Principal at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Red Bull's junior team.

As we begin to look ahead, here are three key questions facing Red Bull as they look to right the ship.

Is Laurent Mekies the right person for the job?

For 20 years, Red Bull has known one Team Principal, Christian Horner.

That run, which spanned eight Drivers' Championships, six Constructors' titles, and a whole lot of race wins.

However, Horner has now handed over operational control of the team to Laurent Mekies, who inherits a legacy that includes one of the most talented drivers in the sport's history, along with a host of headaches.

Is he up for the job?

Mekies' F1 journey began back in 2001 when he first joined Arrows, before moving to Minardi the following season. That is when he first crossed paths with his current employer, as Red Bull bought out Minardi and rebranded the team as Toro Rosso. Mekies stayed with the team, working his way up to Head of Vehicle Performance, and was there when Sebastian Vettel delivered a dream performance at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, taking both pole position and the race victory.

To date that is the only win in Toro Rosso — now Visa Cash App Racing Bulls — history. That season also saw the Red Bull junior team outscore the senior team in the standings, which is also the only time that has happened in F1 history.

Mekies moved to the FIA for the 2014 motorsports season, starting out as a safety director before becoming the Deputy Race Director for F1. But in September of 2018, he returned to pit lane, joining Ferrari as the team's Sporting Director. This was viewed as controversial at the time, as Ferrari announced in March of that year that Mekies would join the team in the fall. Several teams blasted the move as a violation of a "gentleman's agreement" regarding required gardening leave when FIA officials — who have access to sensitive team data — take positions with F1 teams.

"We [are] very unhappy with the FIA for losing yet another key employee to a racing team," McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Motorsport.com. "Especially after it was agreed by all teams at the last Strategy Group meeting that no key technical FIA employees would be employed by a race team within 12 months of leaving the FIA.

"Ferrari went against the gentleman's agreement, and the FIA has not enforced it."

Another Team Principal blasted the move.

But there was an understanding and a clear statement by the teams to say, 'Right, let's have a clear position that there should be at least a period of 12 months in the garden for a member of the team going from either FOM or FIA to a team or a team going vice versa.'

"Certain teams were pushing for it to be three years, but in the end, it was agreed upon being 12 months. What's disappointing is that that meeting was less than six weeks ago, and, arguably, discussions were probably happening at that time. It almost makes those meetings pointless if we can't agree on something and action it. Of course, you can hide behind, 'Well it's not in the regulations,' but as a group, we agreed on something, it hasn't been adhered to, and so one questions what's the point of having those meetings."

That Team Principal? None other than Christian Horner.

Mekies quickly rose through the ranks at Ferrari, becoming the team's Deputy Team Principal and Racing Director in 2021. But in 2023 his former team came calling, and it was announced in April of that year he would be leaving Ferrari and take a role as the Team Principal at AlphaTauri — now VCARB — and he departed Ferrari in July.

Last year he led the team to an eighth-place finish in the Constructors' Championship standings while navigating persistent questions over the driver lineup. VCARB began the year with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in the car, but Ricciardo was sidelined following the Singapore Grand Prix in favor of Liam Lawson.

How that decision was handled by the entire organization was a matter of some controversy, given Ricciardo's status as a fan favorite. Mekies addressed that issue the following race weekend at the United States Grand Prix.

"Yes, it was frustrating and yes, you're right. It was not ideal to go through the weekend in that way," said Mekies to the media, including SB Nation, in Austin last October. "First of all, for him on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team, around him. Yes, Daniel was aware. We did have discussions before the weekend. For many different reasons, we chose together to enter that weekend without announcing. And from that point on, we have to deal with it.

"It's a decision that in hindsight, we may, or may not do differently, but it's something that we were both, both the team and the drivers were on board, to go through that," continued Mekies. "Now, I think in one way or another, we all found a way to express how much love there is from the sport to Daniel. From the fans to Daniel.

"So, I don't know if it would have been better or worse," continued Mekies. "Certainly different, more traditional. I can hopefully say that the amount of love and empathy we felt through that weekend, was something else, something that shows that he's bigger than an F1 driver, he's bigger than F1."

Questions over the team's driver lineup lingered into 2025. VCARB started the season with Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar in the car, but after Lawson struggled with the senior team he was demoted, switching spots with Tsunoda.

Right now VCARB is seventh in the Constructors' Championship standings with 36 points, just five points out of sixth place.

But now, Mekies is in the big chair, as CEO and Team Principal at Red Bull. His lengthy resume, coupled with how he has navigated life at the junior team the past two seasons, would indicate he is ready for the moment. While some might wonder if he'll be ready for the pressure cooker that is Red Bull, spending a few seasons at the pressure cooker that is Ferrari — and there might not be a more stressful environment in the sport — should have him ready.

But only Mekies can answer this question for sure.

What happens with their lineup, non-Max Verstappen edition?

This is also a major question, one that has plagued Red Bull for several seasons now.

Since Ricciardo's departure from the senior team at the end of the 2018 campaign, Red Bull has churned through a few different drivers, trying to lock down the spot alongside Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon were the options in 2019 and 2020. Then the team turned to Sergio Pérez for 2021 but parted ways with him at the end of last season in favor of Lawson.

But Lawson lasted just two races, before giving way to Tsunoda. Only Tsunoda has failed to deliver the performance the team needs, scoring just seven points over his ten race weekends in the spot.

How Mekies handles this situation might be the second-biggest question he needs to answer: Where does he go from here? Given his relationship with Tsunoda from the past two seasons, can he get the most out of him as a driver? Will he turn to another current VCARB driver, Isack Hadjar, for the second seat next year? Will he give Arvid Lindblad a shot, the young phenom rocketing his way up the ranks within the organization? Or will Mekies look outside Red Bull, something Horner hinted at when addressing the media before the British Grand Prix?

How Mekies handles Red Bull's lineup is a massive question, and the second seat is a big factor in that question.

But of course, it is not the biggest.

What happens with their driver lineup, Max Verstappen edition?

How this question gets answered likely determines the answer to the first one.

Can Mekies keep Verstappen in the fold?

When the news of Horner's sacking broke on Wednesday, many rushed to the conclusion that the move would keep Verstappen with the team. There is certainly evidence for such a proposition, given the tension between Horner and Verstappen's team at the start of last season. When Horner was under pressure due to the severe allegations of misconduct raised against him by a Red Bull employee, Team Verstappen — led by Jos Verstappen, Max's father — did not hold back in their criticism. "There is tension here while he remains in position," said the elder Verstappen in an interview with the Daily Mail in March of 2024. "The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can't go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems."

However Erik van Haren, a longtime F1 journalist and noted Verstappen whisperer, poured cold water on that conclusion Wednesday. Speaking on Sky Sports F1, van Haren made it clear that beyond Horner's departure, how the team improves the RB21 this year — and develops the RB22 for next year — are more important.

"You're getting now a lot of reports and people thinking okay Horner is out, so that means Verstappen will stay. I don't think it's that clear. I think what for the Verstappens is most important is that the team is making steps with the car. They have a lot of problems with this car," began van Haren on Sky Sports F1.

"They want more performance and then they can make the decision: is this our team for the future, yes or no. I think this decision [with Horner] has been made to get more peace in the team but also maybe to say to Verstappen, maybe for you this is a good moment to stay.

"Maybe it gives Red Bull a better chance to keep him in the team but that's not a guarantee at this point," added the journalist.

"I think he will make up his mind this month. They have two weeks to go before the summer break so he has a lot of time to think and also to see how the car is performing."

In some ways, this tracks with language from Horner in his final days, and even during his goodbye remarks to the team. For months as speculation swirled around Verstappen, the former Red Bull boss pointed to a piece of paper, maintaining that Verstappen was under contract through 2028 and anything else was noise.

But as the drumbeats over Verstappen to Mercedes grew louder, Horner pivoted. Speaking at the FIA Press Conference ahead of the British Grand Prix, in what for the moment stands as his final FIA presser, Horner had this to say:

"Nobody, with hand on heart, can know what the pecking order is going to be ... It could be Ferrari. It could be Mercedes. It could be anyone.

"There's an awful lot of subjectiveness to 2026, and it'll only be really this time next year that you'll have a clear indication of what that pecking order is. So, there are no guarantees that jumping into a Mercedes car would automatically be a better proposition (emphasis added)."

Then in his remarks at Red Bull Wednesday he mentioned the new power unit program Red Bull is developing in partnership with Ford, saying to the team: "What lies ahead with [Red Bull] Powertrains is truly exciting and I will just be very sad I won't be here to see the engine performance."

For weeks Horner's position regarding Verstappen was that the speculation about his future was just noise, but in the final days he turned to the car itself, and what Red Bull might have next year.

Were these final pitches to Verstappen, even on Horner's way out the door? A sign that Red Bull has something up their sleeves for 2026? Or just a proud goodbye?

These are now the questions facing Mekies.

How he answers them might just determine his, and Verstappen's, future.

And the clock is ticking.