Weeks after Christian Horner's exit, Red Bull Austrian board set to take over a bigger role at Milton Keynes: Reports

Red Bull sacked Christian Horner in a sudden change of events, warranting a restructuring at the helm of the team. While it was initially understood that the restructuring would take place with the team's employees taking up various roles, a new aspect of such reshuffling has reportedly appeared as departments that were earlier under Horner's control are now being outsourced to the Austrian side of the team back at Salzburg.

The Austrian energy drinks maker had bought the Jaguar outfit in 2004 and handed the keys to the team's HQ in Milton Keynes to Horner. Since then, the 51-year-old has been overseeing all of the operations concerning the F1 squad from getting the team running in its initial days to setting up the new engine division for the 2026 run plan.

Moreover, Horner's control over Red Bull had grown from just being the team principal to the supremo of the whole F1 project. While this arrangement worked fine earlier, it produced some intra-team debacles that caused some trouble, leading to his eventual axing by the Austrian hierarchy.

With Christian Horner no longer having his hands in all of the team's departments, the Austrian side of the business has gotten increased responsibility in the F1 project, according to Autosport, as even Helmut Marko revealed about Red Bull GmbH's new role in the whole operation:

"The focus has to be on the race team. Of course, there are departments like marketing and communications, and Salzburg has enormous expertise in those areas. Until suitable department heads are appointed, Salzburg will provide support."

On the other hand, Laurent Mekies has been kept away from following his predecessor's path, as Marko further said:

"The Milton Keynes organisation has 2,000 employees. Mekies will focus primarily on technical matters and the race team. Marketing, the RB17 project, and Powertrains will each be handled by their own dedicated leaders, freeing Mekies to concentrate fully on achieving racing success."

Meanwhile, Mekies' era has started at Red Bull with the Belgian GP done and dusted.

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How is Christian Horner's successor faring at Red Bull?

Laurent Mekies at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2025 - Source: Getty

Christian Horner had led Red Bull to eight drivers' and six constructors' titles in his time at the helm of the team. The Briton had over two decades to establish himself as a fierce character in the paddock, leaving a huge void for Laurent Mekies to fill in his absence.

On the other hand, the first race weekend with the Frenchman leading the team saw the squad claim a sprint win and record a fourth-place finish at the hands of Max Verstappen. Mekies further added how the desire to win will not vanish under his leadership, as he said (via F1)

"There is only one desire at Red Bull. And it goes from the board to anybody at Red Bull F1. They are here to fight for the wins, to fight for the championships. And they are here with the maximum commitment from the group to say, we want the team to continue fighting for the win, fighting for the championships, getting the best car out there."

Meanwhile, the Austrian squad sits fourth in the constructors' standings and will be focusing on acing the regulations in 2026 to mount a comeback towards the front.

Edited by pranavsethii