Official: Christian Horner and Red Bull are finished
It's a shock announcement! Christian Horner has been dismissed as CEO of the Red Bull team with immediate effect. He has been replaced by Laurent Mekies.
Christian Horner, who had led the team since its creation 20 years ago, was replaced by Red Bull management with Laurent Mekies, who until now was the director of the Racing Bulls team.
A departure that surprises
Christian Horner seems to be paying the price for the overall decline of the team over the past 18 months, as Red Bull is only fourth in the Constructors’ Championship at mid-season 2025.
Red Bull is experiencing a disappointing 2025 season, during which Max Verstappen is 69 points behind Oscar Piastri in the race for the drivers’ title.
Moreover, the exchange between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda proved to be unsuccessful, with Yuki Tsunoda equaling Mark Webber’s 2009 record of five consecutive Grand Prix without scoring a point – an unenviable record for a Red Bull driver.
This challenging season saw the team drop to fourth place in the constructors’ championship, with an impressive gap of 288 points behind McLaren.
Max Verstappen, the star driver of the team, has certainly won a few races this season, but the car has been clearly lagging behind since McLaren closed the gap last May.
The team also lost several key figures, including design genius Adrian Newey (who left for Aston Martin) and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley (hired by Sauber).
Furthermore, Max Verstappen’s future remains uncertain despite a contract running until 2028, due to exit clauses that can be activated as soon as the end of this month — notably in the event of a serious offer from Mercedes.
Christian Horner will be replaced by Laurent Mekies, currently heading up the sister team Racing Bulls, owned by Red Bull. Meanwhile, Alan Permane will now take the helm of the team based in Faenza.
More information to come…
