Red Bull Racing senior advisor Helmut Marko has described Christian Horner’s replacement with Laurent Mekies as the right decision, as he believes a “technician at the top” benefits the team on the technical front.

Horner was Red Bull’s first team principal, and performed the role for two decades before being ousted after the 2025 British Grand Prix. The reason for his sudden exit has not been revealed, but speculation suggests that the team’s performance struggles since mid-2024 led to his departure.

Horner was replaced with immediate effect by Mekies, who was promoted from Red Bull’s junior F1 team, Racing Bulls. While Red Bull experienced immense success under Horner’s leadership, winning six Constructors’ Championships between 2010 and 2023, Marko believes Mekies’ engineering background is more suited for the role. Speaking to Servus TV, as quoted by Planet F1, the 81-year-old advisor said:

“I think that was the right decision.

“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.”

Marko also highlighted Max Verstappen’s clean sweep at Monza, as he won the race with a gap of nearly 20 seconds to runner-up Lando Norris. The race marked Red Bull’s first victory in almost four months, given the Dutchman’s previous win at Imola on 18 May. Marko said:

“I believe that with the speed we showed, 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.”

Red Bull dominated the first two and a half years of the ground effect era from 2022. One stark difference from the previous season is that Verstappen is not leading the drivers’ championship, considering McLaren’s dominance. Despite his win at Monza, he is not in contention for a fifth championship victory. Marko, however, is looking positively at Red Bull’s form after the Italian GP. He said:

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

Revealing how the Red Bull got back to its winning ways following a period of car problems, Mekies said:

“In this sort of moment, you think of the team back in Milton Keynes and it’s tough start to the season.

“When things are not working the way you would like them to work, when you are missing that ultimate pace, you question everything. That’s the way we are, the way the competition is.

“What is great is that the team kept an open mind. They did question everything in a very constructive way, and it was a lot of hard work.

“You don’t always get the positive feedback from the track as we got [at Monza]. But they’ve been pushing hard, not giving up, and whilst Monza is a specific layout, blah, blah, blah, it very much gave them back the credit of many weeks, many months of hard work.”