Christian Horner ‘resisted’ one major decision Red Bull chiefs were desperately ‘keen on’ before sacking

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Red Bull Racing appeared to fare rather well at the Belgian Grand Prix without Christian Horner at the helm for the first time in their history.

Max Verstappen won the Sprint Race at the Belgian Grand Prix, before Yuki Tsunoda delivered his best qualifying performance since his promotion earlier in the season.

Tsunoda hailed the impact of Laurent Mekies during that qualifying session, only for a strategy error to end the Japanese driver’s hopes of ending his points drought.

Laurent Mekies was the subject of plenty of attention at Spa, and he appeared to handle it very well.

Mekies was spotted heading to the Mercedes hospitality unit at one point for a chat, something it’s hard to imagine Christian Horner doing in his time in charge of the team.

Martin Brundle suggested Horner would have been ‘very sad’ not to have been involved at the weekend, especially given how crucial he’s been to the team’s success over the past two decades.

Horner and Red Bull didn’t see eye to eye on everything during his time in charge, with a power struggle constantly playing out behind the scenes between the Austrian side of the business, Horner, and the Thai shareholders.

Journalist Craig Slater believes one decision Horner made, which is going to have a huge impact on 2026 and beyond, didn’t go down well with Austrian executives.

READ MORE: All to know about sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth

Red Bull chiefs were ‘keen on’ Porsche power units for 2026 before Christian Horner resistance

Slater was speaking in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix about Horner’s time in charge of Red Bull and explained: “2014’s new engine changes brought new challenges. Horner negotiated a Honda works deal, kept Newey motivated with side projects, then signed Max Verstappen from underneath Toto Wolff’s nose and promoted him.

“The result, Red Bull were back on top.

“That second dominant spell had even greater highs. In 2023, Red Bull won every single race but one.

“But, behind the scenes, cracks appeared. Horner resisted a tie-up with Porsche, something Red Bull’s Austrian executives were keen on.

“Owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s death created a new power structure. Despite Horner building up the Milton Keynes campus, he was now under the authority of Oliver Mintzlaff’s Salzburg office, with Helmut Marko’s influence boosted by his close ties to the Verstappen’s, with battle lines drawn.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

How important is Red Bull Powertrains and the partnership with Ford for the 2026 Formula 1 season?

Instead of working alongside Porsche, Horner set up Red Bull Powertrains, and in Honda’s absence, they will instead be partnering with Ford.

Brundle was impressed on a visit to Red Bull’s power unit facility, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to build a fast engine.

Next season’s regulations are expected to greatly benefit whichever team builds the best power unit.

It will consist of a combustion engine and battery power, with a far greater emphasis on the electronic component than before.

This is why many people believe Mercedes will have the best engine in 2026, and has fuelled rumours that Toto Wolff thinks he can hire Verstappen.

Suggestions Red Bull’s 2026 power unit might be weaker than their rivals have existed for a long time.

Despite hiring plenty of staff from the likes of Mercedes, they simply don’t have the same experience as other manufacturers.

Whether Red Bull ultimately regret not pushing through a deal with Porsche is yet to be seen, but it could be one of the decisions that Horner made before his sacking that could have the biggest influence on their long-term future.