Red Bull staff are arriving at the Belgian Grand Prix for the start of a new era. For the first time in their 20-year history, Christian Horner will not be in charge.<\/p>\n
Laurent Mekies<\/a> will take his seat on the pit wall, having been promoted from sister team Racing Bulls. But for this weekend, and many races to come, the story of Horner\u2019s sacking will continue to develop.<\/p>\n Red Bull<\/a> are struggling this year, relative at least to the historic standards they set at the start of the ground-effect era. They\u2019re on course for their poorest championship showing in 10 years, with McLaren likely to be more than 300 points ahead by the time they leave Spa.<\/p>\n Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 460 2 222 3 210 4 172 <\/p>\n Max Verstappen continues to show his greatness despite the limitations of the car, but Yuki Tsunoda has brutally underlined them by scoring just seven points in his first 10 races. Still, there certainly wasn\u2019t a consensus across the team that Horner<\/a> had to go, and that could cause problems for the new regime.<\/p>\n Red Bull employees unhappy with \u2018dismissive\u2019 nature of Christian Horner sacking<\/p>\n A report from Planet F1<\/a> reveals that Red Bull\u2019s Austrian shareholders wanted to reset the team\u2019s identity. They didn\u2019t like being perceived as a \u2018Horner-led British organisation\u2019. <\/p>\n Managing director Oliver Mintzlaff, backed by Helmut Marko<\/a>, has symbolically emphasised that \u2018Austria is in charge\u2019. To that end, Mekies won\u2019t be as powerful as his predecessor.<\/p>\n But they need to generate support \u2018on the ground\u2019 within the Red Bull factory. A fortnight after the shocking Horner announcement, there\u2019s still a feeling of \u2018widespread dismay and disbelief\u2019.<\/p>\n Many employees are \u2018completely disheartened\u2019 after seeing the \u2018dismissive nature\u2019 of Horner\u2019s sacking. Paul Smith and Oliver Hughes, who headed up the communications and marketing departments respectively, also lost their jobs. <\/p>\n While Red Bull celebrated Horner\u2019s contribution on social media, the team\u2019s official statement didn\u2019t offer an explanation for the decision, and there has been no further communication in the lead-up to Spa.<\/p>\n Christian Horner is already plotting his next move in Formula 1<\/p>\n It\u2019s been reported that Marko stayed away from the Red Bull factory<\/a> when Horner gave his farewell speech. In light of recent revelations, that may reflect the divide between the two.<\/p>\n Horner\u2019s speech left some colleagues in tears<\/a>, and there was said to be several minutes of applause afterwards. He\u2019s celebrated 14 championship wins (six drivers\u2019, eight constructors\u2019) over the last two decades.<\/p>\n There are fears at Red Bull that Horner could trigger an exodus<\/a> if he joins another team. That reflects the lasting devotion among some pockets of the workforce.<\/p>\n