Red Bull: New Era Without Horner, Verstappen at the Belgian GP

Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team principal, shared a video on social media riding a horse in the English countryside on the day of the Belgian Grand Prix. The publication, with a simple description, said: “Different power this Sunday”. Spa-Francorchamps marked the beginning of a new era for the team, the first race without Horner at the helm since Red Bull entered Formula 1 in 2005. The new boss, Laurent Mekies, started off on the right foot, with Max Verstappen winning Saturday’s sprint race. However, on Sunday, the four-time Dutch world champion obtained a frustrating fourth place in the Grand Prix. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda failed to score points for the sixth race in a row.

Mekies, apart from expressing surprise at the long delay in the start of the race due to the heavy rain, avoided any controversy. He attributed Tsunoda’s result to a team error, mentioning that the Japanese driver had done a great job in qualifying, but was called in too late for his pit stop, which cost him three or four positions.

After two weeks at the factory, trying to get to know as many people as possible, it was also nice to meet the race team. Also to get into the dynamics of the race and see what the flows, processes and preparation are like. That was very good for getting to know the team. As you can imagine, it’s a team where everything is done at the highest level.

Laurent Mekies

Horner’s absence was the topic of conversation in the paddock, but attention is likely to shift for next week, when the Formula 1 circus moves to Budapest.