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F1 insider Martin Brundle expressed his grief as Red Bull Racing parted ways with team principal Christian Horner earlier on July 9. The 51-year-old had served the role for the past two decades, since the team's inception in 2005.
Under Horner, Red Bull went through waves of dominance, winning six constructors' and eight drivers' titles with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen between 2010-2013, and 2021-2024. However, some recent build-ups led to his ultimate sacking by the team.
Former F1 driver and color commentator for Sky Sports Formula 1 broadcast, Martin Brundle, reacted to Horner's departure. He mentioned that he was "quite sad" about the whole incident, as Christian Horner is a close friend of his.
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"I'm quite sad about it. I consider Christian Horner a friend, and you know, he's done an incredible job there for 20 years, won an awful lot of races and World Championships for drivers and for the team," Brundle said.
He further discussed the success Horner brought to the team with his guidance, but also mentioned the difficulties that had built up within the team more recently.
"He took it from what was the Stuart team through Jaguar, and it was struggling to a massive campus in Milton Keynes and an awful lot of success and a huge trophy cabinet so but, but you know, it's not been difficult to feel in the Formula One paddock and to observe and to hear that things were not particularly rosy," Brundle added.
There are quite a few challenges that stand ahead of Red Bull after losing the most important member of their crew.
Laurent Mekies appointed as Red Bull Racing CEO, replacing Christian Horner
Laurent Mekies, who has served as VCARB's team principal since the start of the 2024 season, was promoted as RBR's CEO, a position that was held by Horner since 2005 up until now.
This is seemingly a difficult time for the team. Their chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, had left the team earlier, supposedly because of the allegations of 'inappropriate behavior' against Horner last year. Moreover, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley had also left the team.
Christian Horner was an important pillar at Red Bull Racing. He helped the team become one of the most successful in Formula 1 history. However, with him gone and most of the team's strongest elements, they could enter a downward spiral from here.
The Austrian side has been underperforming this season. Max Verstappen has been reported to be in conversation with Mercedes for the future. As mentioned, RBR is in a difficult state right now, and it is hard to predict if they will be able to pull through this situation.
