Why sacking Christian Horner was the ‘right decision’ for Red Bull and Marko

Sacking Christian Horner and installing Laurent Mekies as Red Bull’s new team principal, Helmut Marko claims putting an engineer in the driving seat was the “right decision”.

Red Bull shocked the world of motorsport when the F1 team announced after the British Grand Prix that long-serving F1 team principal Horner had been sacked with immediate effect.

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“Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today (Wednesday 9 July 2025) and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing,” read the statement from Red Bull.

The 51-year-old Englishman had occupied the role ever since the team started out in the Formula 1 World Championship, and led Red Bull Racing to eight Drivers’ titles and seven Constructors’ crowns.

But like that, it was over.

Marko subsequently explained why the axe had fallen, telling Sky Deutschland: “This was the result of various factors, but above all, the performance wasn’t quite as good as it could have been.”

Under Horner’s leadership in F1 2025, Red Bull had claimed two of 12 grand prix wins and sat P4 in the Constructors’ Championship with 172 points to McLaren’s 460.

Mekies’ reign began with a Sprint victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, but it wasn’t until his fourth race weekend in charge that Red Bull, with Max Verstappen behind the wheel, claimed a grand prix win.

The reigning World Champion followed up his podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix with a pole position and a grand prix win at Monza to pull 36 points clear of George Russell in the race to join the McLaren teammates on the season’s podium.

F1 2025: Key information

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Part of the team’s recent success has been attributed to Mekies’ all-in approach to tackling Friday practices, leaving nothing on the table – not even horsepower.

According to Marko, that has shone on a spotlight on the difference between Horner the former race-car driver and Mekies, the engineer.

“I think that was the right decision,” Marko declared to ServusTV as per OE24.

“In the complexity of Formula 1, a technician at the top is probably the better solution, everything is then built more from the technical side.”

The Red Bull motorsport advisor went on to applaud the team’s performance in Monza where Verstappen claimed pole and the win while Yuki Tsunoda also qualified inside the top ten before collision damage hampered his pace.

It has Marko dreaming of more wins for the F1 2025 season ends in Abu Dhabi.

“I believe that with the speed we showed,” Marko bullishly stated, “we would be at the front of almost all circuits – hopefully under our own steam.

“It works because the whole team works together optimally, that the drivers are also involved in the setup and we can now make optimal use of the potential.”

The World title, though, is a step too far.

Although Verstappen is third in the standings, he trails McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 94 points. That means he is still in the title race, but only mathematically given McLaren’s advantage at most tracks.

“The World Championship is over, but a few wins would still be nice,” Marko said.

Red Bull could yet feature on both of this season’s podiums as Verstappen is third in the Drivers’ standings, 36 points ahead of Russell, while Red Bull are fourth in the Constructors, 21 points down on Mercedes and 41 behind second-placed Ferrari.

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