Mekies fires back at Horner's claim Red Bull has 'lost its mojo' since his exit

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies publicly dismissed Christian Horner’s claim that the Milton Keynes outfit has “lost its mojo, its presence, its vibe” since the Briton’s exit, telling reporters at Friday’s team principals’ press conference in Mexico City that the squad feels “extremely differently” about its internal culture.

Horner, who departed Red Bull in July 2025 after more than two decades as team principal, has been promoting his memoir Drive in recent days. In an interview with The Times, he suggested the team had lost its defining character following his departure — comments Mekies addressed directly when asked by journalists.

“Christian is entitled to his opinion,” Mekies said. “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.”

Mekies pointed to Red Bull’s recovery from a difficult opening stretch of the season as evidence of the team’s resilience. The squad faced problems on both the chassis and power unit sides in the first half of the year, but Mekies argued that the manner in which the team responded was itself a demonstration of the Red Bull spirit Horner claimed was missing.

“It’s always one thing to have a positive spirit when you are winning races,” he said. “It’s something else to have that same fighting spirit and unity between the team members when you are put under pressure. The way the team stuck together, the way they set the Milton Keynes department on fire to try to come back — that’s the Red Bull spirit and that’s certainly how we feel we need to go racing.”

Mekies was careful not to overstate the progress made, however. Red Bull currently sits third in the constructors’ standings, level on points with fourth-placed McLaren, and the Frenchman made clear that a return to championship contention remains the only benchmark that matters.

“The guys got the reward they deserved with the turnaround that they have produced, which is very remarkable,” he said. “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.”