Helmut Marko: Red Bull revival “like the old days” following Christian Horner’s exit

Helmut Marko has conceded that Red Bull have benefitted from a change in F1 team principal, likening it to a football team replacing its manager.

Christian Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies ahead of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix in July.

Red Bull’s shock decision brought an end to Horner’s 20-year tenure in charge of the team.

Horner oversaw a period of F1 dominance with Sebastian Vettel in the early 2010s, with the German winning four consecutive drivers’ titles.

Red Bull also won four constructors’ championships during that period.

They returned to the front of the field again in 2021 as Max Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton, marking a new era of success.

However, an off-track investigation into inappropriate behaviour and souring relations within the team led to Horner’s eventual dismissal.

It came after Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley left the team — two high-profile Red Bull figures.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Marko described the atmosphere at Red Bull as “like the old days”.

The Austrian was keen to give credit to both Horner and new boss Mekies, saying “both have their merits”.

“We are starting winning again. So the atmosphere, everything is positive, and it’s like the old days,” Marko said.

“It’s like with a football coach,” he added.

“They all have that different way of leadership, but the main thing is that we are successful again, and both have their merits.”

Mekies’ impact at Red Bull

Mekies’ arrival at Red Bull resulted in a significant upturn in form after the summer break.

Verstappen won three of the subsequent four races after the shutdown, putting himself back in title contention.

The big factor in Red Bull’s return to winning ways was Mekies’ influence — and allowing Verstappen to have a bigger say in setup direction.

“Quite massive. But that came together with Laurent,” Marko explained.

“He is a very good engineer, besides that, he can work with the people on a very communicative way and they both, I would say, installed a new way of going into the details or simply saying: ‘The numbers in the simulator is not what matters anymore. It matters what the stopwatch shows.’

“That means to get out the maximum of the car, the driver can rely on it, and it’s not on such a small edge that only a Max can drive it. 

“Although, if he doesn’t have the confidence, he can’t go to the limit like he does at the moment.”

Verstappen is 49 points behind Lando Norris ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Las Vegas is expected to be a weaker track for McLaren, giving Verstappen another chance of reducing Norris' lead ahead of the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.