Formula 1 is in a \u201chealthier\u201d place with Laurent Mekies as the Red Bull Racing CEO rather than Christian Horner.<\/p>\n
That is the blunt opinion expressed by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, who believes that a line was crossed with Horner when it comes to Formula 1 politics.<\/p>\n
Zak Brown believes Formula 1 \u2018healthier\u2019 without Christian Horner<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n
In the days following the British Grand Prix, Red Bull<\/a> announced that Christian Horner \u2013 team boss of Red Bull Racing for over 20 years \u2013 had been released with immediate effect, as Laurent Mekies was called up from Racing Bulls to take his place.<\/p>\n Mekies has since stepped into Horner\u2019s roles as CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing, as well as taking over as CEO of the group\u2019s other companies, such as Red Bull Powertrains and Red Bull Advanced Technologies.<\/p>\n It had been a challenging 18 months for Horner off-track, who was twice cleared by Red Bull after investigations into allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by an employee. Horner denied all allegations prior to being cleared following two separate external investigations.<\/p>\n On the track, meanwhile, Red Bull\u2019s performance waned as its days of dominating Formula 1 expired. Max Verstappen\u2019s streak of Drivers\u2019 Championship wins looks set to end at four.<\/p>\n Horner and Brown clashed verbally on several occasions throughout that 18-month period, Brown having called for transparency after news of the allegations and investigation broke.<\/p>\n And with Horner out the F1 door \u2013 at least for now \u2013 his place taken by Mekies, this is a change which Brown fully embraces.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy Laurent\u2019s in the role he is in,\u201d Brown told The Telegraph<\/a>. \u201cI like Laurent, that\u2019ll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n In Brown\u2019s opinion, a line was crossed politically in Formula 1 with Horner at the helm of Red Bull.<\/p>\n Brown was vocal over Red Bull\u2019s minor breach of the 2021 cost cap. Meanwhile, as McLaren began to usurp Red Bull as the leading F1 force, allegations of flexi-wings and using water for tyre cooling began to emerge against McLaren, linked to the Red Bull camp.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Brown admitted there is \u201clittle love lost\u201d between himself and Horner, saying that he was at fundamental odds with how the British executive carried out his role.<\/p>\n Horner\u2019s disappearance from the F1 paddock, for the first time in over 20 years, has led to suggestions from some quarters that subsequent meetings amongst bosses at the F1 Commission have been more harmonious since Horner\u2019s firing, although these claims have been vehemently disputed.<\/p>\n One senior source indicated to PlanetF1.com that Horner was \u201crarely a voice of discord or argument\u201d in isolation, and that his disappearance from the Commission meetings has resulted in little change in overall inter-team dynamics.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some political aspects to the sport, but I think it is going to be healthier with Laurent,\u201d Brown continued. \u201cI\u2019m a fan of Laurent. I have known him for a long time, and it\u2019ll be good to go racing against him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt went too far,\u201d Brown added, in reference to F1 politics. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be politicking in F1 \u2013 let\u2019s try and shut down their flexi-wings and that stuff, but when you start getting into frivolous allegations, that\u2019s just going too far.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I look up and down the pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed, and that line got crossed before.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that we\u2019ll see a little bit of a change for the better. There\u2019s a higher level of trust that now, if we sit down and have a conversation on a topic where we think there could be some confidentiality, and it\u2019s just not an automatic \u2018I\u2019m going to use that as a political weapon\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be in a better place, a little bit more unified, and a little bit more trusting that while we\u2019re fighting on track, we can have a conversation about what\u2019s good for the sport off it. And that won\u2019t get manipulated for political reasons and taken out of context.\u201d<\/p>\n More key talking points from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 The silly season storylines to watch out for in F1\u2019s summer break<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Five major F1 decisions that have already aged like milk: Hamilton, Sainz, Red Bull and more<\/a><\/p>\n Informed of his sacking in a London meeting following the British Grand Prix, Red Bull GmbH was initially tight-lipped on the reasons for its Horner decision.<\/p>\n Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko would break his silence on the topic when he spoke with Sky Deutschland at the Belgian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision was made by Oliver Mintzlaff,\u201d Marko said, Mintzlaff being Red Bull\u2019s CEO of corporate projects and new investments.<\/p>\n \u201cWe informed Christian Horner of this on Tuesday in London after the Silverstone race, at the same time officially thanking him for these 20 years and for these eight World Championship titles.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the result of various factors, but above all, the performance wasn\u2019t quite as good as it could have been.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, we were able to bring Laurent Mekies into the family. His responsibilities will be significantly reduced, with the main focus being on racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Bull sits fourth in the F1 2025 Constructors\u2019 standings<\/a> at the summer break, 42 points behind Mercedes, a position ahead.<\/p>\n