Laurent Mekies and Red Bull celebrated another race victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend. It was the first time the team had taken back-to-back wins since the summer of last year.
Max Verstappen showcased his supreme car control in tricky conditions at the end of qualifying to take pole position. But his imperious performance in the race – he won by nearly 15 seconds – proved Red Bull were legitimately fastest as McLaren struggled.
Mekies’ stock continues to climb, with a disastrous Hungarian GP just before the summer break already forgotten. Red Bull are suddenly in with a chance of finishing second in the standings.
| RACE | LEAD CAR | TOTAL POINTS |
| Belgium Sprint | 1st | 8 |
| Belgium | 4th | 12 |
| Hungary | 9th | 2 |
| Netherlands | 2nd | 20 |
| Italy | 1st | 25 |
| Azerbaijan | 1st | 33 |
On the face of it, it already looks as if the decision to replace Christian Horner has paid off. But the reality is more complex, as a report from The Times explains.
Christian Horner oversaw development of Red Bull’s ‘turning point’ upgrade
Mekies has empowered Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda by placing a greater weight on their feedback when deciding on set-up or strategy. That may be one reason Red Bull have improved, but the car is clearly faster too.
Indeed, the upturn of the last two races can be attributed largely to a floor upgrade at the Italian GP. It’s described as a ‘turning point’ for the team.
And as the report points out, upgrades like this are typically manufactured weeks and months in advance. In this case, the Monza development was signed off by Horner.
Red Bull, like their rivals, are now focused on the 2026 regulation changes. Mekies inherited a progression plan that had already been finalised by his predecessor.
For around a year, Red Bull’s upgrades failed to decisively alter their trajectory, which no doubt contributed to Horner’s sacking. The cruel irony is that he was axed before their most effective package came off the production line.
How many F1 teams have shown an interest in Christian Horner so far?
On Monday, it was announced that Horner has officially left Red Bull. He negotiated a severance package after being sacked with four and a half years of his contract still to run.
As part of the deal, Horner can join one of Red Bull’s rivals from next summer. He’s seemingly determined to return to F1.
However, Auto Motor und Sport report that no team has shown an interest at this stage. Horner is seeking a stake in a team, so it may be that he makes the approach.
AMuS add that Horner could be more attractive to teams who struggle at the start of the new regulations and therefore desire a change of regime.