Verstappen bats away Horner question amidst Red Bull turnaround

Max Verstappen says no one can know “for sure” whether Red Bull’s decision to change team bosses, replacing the long-serving Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies, played a part in the team’s turnaround.

Having looked out of the fight after the Dutch Grand Prix when he dropped 104 points behind Oscar Piastri, Verstappen has gone on a charge and he has closed the gap to just 40 points.

Did Red Bull’s leadership change trigger the turnaround?

Red Bull was the dominant team in the first two years of F1’s ground-effect era, but lost the Constructors’ title to McLaren last season. This year, Red Bull looked set to also lose the Drivers’ crown to the Woking team.

Piastri and Lando Norris won 12 of the first 15 grands prix, racing to the 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship where Piastri led Norris by 34 points after the Zandvoort race, Verstappen a massive 104 off the pace.

Momentum, however, swung to Red Bull a race later in Italy where the team’s upgraded floor created a better balanced and handling RB21. Verstappen clinched the win, before adding Baku and Austin to his season’s tally.

It has marked a massive turnaround in form, which has taken place under the leadership of new team principal Mekies.

The Frenchman replaced long-serving team boss Horner when the Briton was axed in the wake of the British Grand Prix. He was dismissed after a controversial 18 months that started when a female employee accused him of sexual harassment, for which he was twice cleared.

But as Red Bull’s form faltered on the track, Horner was removed as team principal and CEO before officially parting ways with Red Bull last month in a $100m settlement.

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Verstappen insists he cannot say whether Horner’s exit and the change in leadership triggered the turnaround.

“You can’t possibly know for sure,” he told De Telegraaf.

“But I’m just very happy with how everything is going in the team now. Not only with Laurent, but with all of Red Bull Racing.

“And also the whole relationship between the shareholders in Austria and Thailand. Everyone is on the same wavelength. For such a big brand and racing team, that’s very important.

“Many people knew that things were not going well, but it is not always easy to solve it.

“I now go to the track with a more pleasant feeling. But the results and the fact that I have a more competitive car, that also helps in that respect.”

Max Verstappen and the ‘best car’ debate

Verstappen has clawed his way back into the title race despite not having the best car on the grid for the bulk of the championship.

It was a feat he didn’t think would be possible.

“At one point this season I was like, this is not going to be anything anymore,” he said.

“I went into the season knowing that we didn’t have the best car. And now I still don’t think so, but as a team we know very well how to maximise. We have been adept at that for years.”

Asked if it was “satisfying to prove” that he could win without sitting in the best car, he replied: “I don’t care what other people think.

“But at the same time, sometimes it’s nice that you can show that. That it’s not always just the car.

” To win races in Formula 1 you have to have a good car, of course. But it always has to be the very best.

“I have nothing to lose in this title race and have to go all-in.”

Verstappen still faces a stiff challenge as he needs to outscore Piastri by an average of eight points per race to beat the Australian to the title, and 5.2 points more than Norris. But he’s been doing that comfortably the last four races, up by an average of 16 against Piastri and 11 against Norris.

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