Red Bull F1 boss Laurent Mekies hits back at Christian Horner’s “lost its mojo” claim
Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal Laurent Mekies has rejected Christian Horner’s claim that the Milton Keynes outfit has “lost its mojo” since his exit, insisting its spirit has driven a “very remarkable” turnaround.
Horner, who left the team in July 2025 after two decades in charge, has been promoting his memoir Drive, which was published last week. During an interview with The Times, the Briton claimed the team had “lost its mojo, its presence, its vibe” since he left.
Asked about the comments in Friday’s team principals’ press conference in Mexico City, Mekies said: “Look, first of all, Christian is entitled to his opinion. He obviously has spent a lot of time in this team and I respect his point of view.
“We certainly feel extremely differently about the vibe in the team. One of the strong points we have been enjoying certainly in the last few months is the incredible team spirit that has allowed us to come back from an objectively very difficult moment.
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
“It’s always one thing to have a positive spirit when you are winning races, it’s something else to have that same fighting spirit and unity between the team members when you are put under pressure, and we certainly had a challenging first part of the year, on the chassis side and the PU side.
“The way the team stuck together, the way the team set the Milton Keynes department on fire to try to come back, and the way they have done that, it’s such a challenging matter, from any of our team members to the brutally honest comments of our drivers. That’s the Red Bull spirit and that’s certainly how we feel we need to go racing.
“The guys got the reward they deserved with the turnaround that they have produced, which is very remarkable, but ultimately we are well aware that we live and die with our results.
“The target is not to win one race or two races; the target is to be back to world titles, and until we are there, nobody will feel we have achieved anything.”
Red Bull currently sits third in the constructors’ standings, level on points with fourth-placed McLaren.
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