Rival F1 team boss says Red Bull have changed for the better since Christian Horner sacking

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Laurent Mekies has made an excellent start as Red Bull team principal. He understood the scale of the task after predecessor Christian Horner won 14 championships over a 20-year tenure.

Many Red Bull staff were still loyal to Horner when he was unexpectedly dismissed in July. But Mekies has immediately justified a mighty gamble from the team’s hierarchy.

Red Bull have benefited from a floor upgrade that Horner signed off before his departure. However, Mekies has also changed the team’s methods, notably by granting Max Verstappen a greater influence over set-up and strategy.

Verstappen has won two Grands Prix already and maintained a 100% podium record since the summer break. This run has brought him back into the F1 title picture and revived the team’s chances of a top-three constructors’ finish.

Red Bull rival says the atmosphere has improved after Christian Horner’s departure

Speaking to De Telegraaf, one unnamed Formula 1 team principal said that he can tell ‘from a distance’ that the ‘atmosphere at Red Bull has improved. He believes this is the ‘most important’ short-term change Mekies has made.

Horner went into survival mode during his final months at Milton Keynes, which led to tension at the team. The Briton was aware that some powerful figures ‘wanted to get rid of him’.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton wants Ferrari to introduce ‘essential’ policy Laurent Mekies has brought to Red Bull

One ‘source’ claims that Red Bull would ‘never’ have achieved their recent turnaround if Horner had stayed, even with the same parts. Perhaps that’s a sign of how the off-track atmosphere can impact performance.

Verstappen has already won as many races under Mekies as he did in the first half of the year under Horner.

What Red Bull’s owners think of Laurent Mekies after three months in charge

Mekies is ‘rarely seen’ in the paddock because he’s so devoted to the racing operation. He’s ‘constantly’ speaking to mechanics and engineers, and he also has a 20-minute meeting with Verstappen before every race weekend.

While Horner tried to make himself ‘too important’, Mekies has repeatedly shrugged off any credit for Red Bull’s upturn. This has likely been welcomed by team ownership.

Indeed, Mekies ‘seems to be getting along very well with his superiors’. He was seen as a natural successor after a strong stint at Racing Bulls.

Of course, the positivity could dissipate quickly if Red Bull struggle following the regulation changes this winter. But Mekies’ methodology should help the team extract the maximum from their initial package, and improve quickly thereafter.