Red Bull employees are starting to wonder whether they were ‘better’ off under Christian Horner

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Red Bull staff are beginning to question the wisdom of sacking Christian Horner last year, it has been reported. The team have made a poor start to F1’s new era under Laurent Mekies.

Mekies was praised for what appeared to be an instant impact last season, having taken over from Horner in July. Max Verstappen’s title bid was spectacularly reignited as he fell just two points short.

But in 2026, Red Bull have only scored 16 points across the first three rounds, which puts them sixth in the championship. It’s their worst start to a season under the current points system.

Red Bull staff starting to worry that sacking Christian Horner only made things ‘worse’

According to ESPN, there are ‘growing doubts internally’ over whether the team are in a ‘better or worse’ position after sacking Horner. Initially, it looked like a masterstroke, but now the picture is more complex.

After overseeing eight title-winning seasons in a 20-year spell, Horner still has many supporters at Red Bull, even if he became an increasingly divisive figure in the lead-up to his exit.

It recently emerged that long-serving Red Bull mechanic Ole Schack has resigned over a change in the ‘working atmosphere’, but it’s unclear if this is in any way linked to Mekies.

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Mekies is now presiding over the biggest crisis of his tenure after Verstappen threatened to retire at the end of the season. His discontent is linked to the 2026 regulations rather than Red Bull’s struggles, but fighting in the midfield will only harden his stance.

The Frenchman is confident that, if Red Bull improve their car, his star driver will start feeling happier. Verstappen believes Mercedes are a second ahead as it stands.

Laurent Mekies chased glory last year and is now paying the price

Last year, Horner wanted to deprioritise the 2025 Red Bull in favour of the new regulations. With McLaren so far ahead, he felt it made sense to think longer term.

The team’s surge under Mekies proves that the drivers’ title fight was not a lost cause. But those two decisive points shape the narrative.

Had Verstappen won the title, persisting with the RB21 would have looked like a masterstroke, and it would have been easier to stomach the team’s current predicament. But he didn’t, so the sacrifice doesn’t appear worthwhile.

While Mekies is in a difficult position because Red Bull are making their debut as engine builders, the problems at the moment seem to be chassis-related instead. Perhaps, if more resources had been devoted to the RB22, this could have been avoided.

Mekies was not Red Bull’s sole saviour last season, nor is he to blame for their drop-off. The truth naturally lies somewhere in between.

It makes most sense to evaluate him at the end of his first full campaign, but if he loses the team’s biggest asset before then, he will suddenly be under extreme pressure.