Laurent Mekies reveals what he told Red Bull staff when they asked why Christian Horner was sacked

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Red Bull didn’t formally communicate a reason for Christian Horner’s sacking in July. Laurent Mekies has made a positive start since replacing F1’s longest-serving team boss.

Clearly, there was frustration with Red Bull’s performance levels in 2025. Horner was sacked after Verstappen fell from pole to fifth at the British GP, which widened the chasm to the two McLaren drivers at the top of the standings.

It was clear that a run of four straight drivers’ titles was going to come to an end. There were rumours that Verstappen wanted Horner out and even threatened to leave if there wasn’t a change of regime.

Verstappen’s camp have rejected those claims both in public and private. Horner refused to give up any power, which reportedly led to tension with the team’s Austrian management.

Laurent Mekies told Red Bull employees he didn’t know why Christian Horner lost his job

Mekies oversaw a Sprint win for Verstappen during his debut weekend in Belgium and celebrated his first Grand Prix victory at Monza last time out. Red Bull’s situation in both championships is broadly the same, but there is more optimism about the future.

Mekies has been praised for changing Red Bull’s methods, most notably by placing greater emphasis on driver feedback. He wants the team to focus on the future and not on their largely successful past with Horner.

He admitted to The Guardian that some staff approached him for an explanation about Horner’s sacking. But he couldn’t give them an answer, suggesting he simply doesn’t know.

Some Red Bull staff were in tears when Horner gave his farewell speech. That underlines the strong bond many of them had with the 51-year-old.

“‘Why are we changing? Why now?’ were all questions I didn’t have an answer to,” he says. “So I told them exactly as I’m telling you now.

“The why and the why now are not questions for me. I don’t have the answer to them. There is no other way than to be honest. My focus is on the future and the next phase.

“Of course it is the biggest challenge. But if I go back, the one before was the previous biggest, and the one before was the previous biggest. There is only one objective we have been given, to go back to winning and to do it the Red Bull way. That’s the only brief.”

Red Bull knew they wouldn’t have one Christian Horner problem with Laurent Mekies

According to The Times, Red Bull felt Horner was claiming too much credit for the team’s success. They knew they wouldn’t have this problem with Mekies.

Indeed, the former Racing Bulls boss was determined to deflect any praise he received for the team’s Italian GP success. Mekies has been described as ‘the polar opposite’ of his predecessor.

He likes to keep a low profile inside the paddock, where he is well-liked. Horner clashed with Zak Brown and Toto Wolff, but Red Bull may now rebuild their relationship with McLaren and Mercedes.

Mekies comes from an engineering background, whereas Horner was a former racing driver. This may explain the difference in their managerial philosophies.