Red Bull's New F1 Leader Faces High-Stakes Decisions
Jul.14 - Christian Horner was sacked last week, but all eyes remain on the former Red Bull boss and the "new chapter" at the Formula 1 team.
Max Verstappen, Dr Helmut Marko, and even Horner admitted just prior to last week's shock events that a fifth consecutive drivers' title for the Dutchman will not now happen.
But Red Bull is not giving up on 2025, the energy drink's sports CEO Oliver Mintzlaff declared in the wake of the Horner shakeup.
"We have to flip the switch, look forward, and stand together," Bild newspaper quotes him as saying.
"As a team, we've achieved great things and will continue to do so in the future. The world championship is not lost yet."
Team advisor Marko wrote off the title after the British GP, but he now says Red Bull will keep pushing this year until the championships are "mathematically" out of the question.
The next two rounds, at Spa and Hungary, will be held back-to-back, and "we'll have new parts on the car for both weekends," Marko told Speed Week.
He did not mention Horner at all in the interview, but he did refer to "a new chapter for Red Bull Racing and the Racing Bulls" beginning at Spa-Francorchamps.
"Alan (Permane) was the logical choice for us, as we didn't want to bring in anyone from outside," he said, referring to the new Racing Bulls team boss.
"Laurent (Mekies) was also a natural fit for the new job for the same reasons - as an internal solution and also as a man with vast experience.
"Thanks to his diverse activities, including later work with the FIA and Ferrari, Laurent has everything he needs to lead a top team with a skilled hand."
After the 20-year Horner reign, however, Mekies faces a huge challenge. "As a Frenchman, things won't be easy for him in Milton Keynes," said Michael Schmidt, a respected correspondent for Auto Motor und Sport.
Top of Mekies' list is the Max Verstappen issue.
"I'll give him some time, but in the coming weeks we'll see where Max goes," he told Ziggo Sport.
"Then he also has to decide what drivers he'll have next year. Yuki Tsunoda won't stay with these kinds of results, and he knows Isack Hadjar well from Racing Bulls. He'd love to bring him to the top team.
"Who will he put alongside Isack? Laurent still has some big decisions to make."
Bild newspaper believes Horner's fatal last move at Red Bull Racing was refusing to relinquish control even of marketing oversight at the second team Racing Bulls.
It reportedly ended in an argument with his former strongest ally, Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya. The energy drink company's big-wigs are apparently now deciding how to pay out the remaining five years of Horner's contract.
Reports suggest a pay-out in the region of $50-125 million. One rumour is that the 51-year-old could use the proceeds to buy into the Alpine team.
"I'm curious to see what Horner agrees to," De Telegraaf correspondent Erik van Haren said. "There are rumors that he wants to buy shares in Alpine."
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers agrees: "We all know Horner wanted a stake in Red Bull, and he never got one from (Dietrich) Mateschitz. If there's an opportunity for him now, it's Alpine."
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