Laurent Mekies claps back at Christian Horner’s Red Bull “lost its mojo” claim
Red Bull F1 boss Laurent Mekies has firmly rejected claims made by Christian Horner about his former team.
Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Laurent Mekies has hit back at Christian Horner’s claim that his former side has “lost its mojo” since he left.
Horner was relieved of his duties as CEO and team principal after two decades at the helm of Red Bull in July 2025 following a power struggle and notable decline in performance.
The Briton was replaced by Mekies, who has received praise for how he has helped Red Bull recover from its slump and overseen a turbulent period at Milton Keynes.
But during a recent interview with The Times, Horner took a swipe at his former team and claimed it had “lost its mojo, its presence, it’s vibe” in the aftermath of his departure.
Mekies rejected Horner’s take on Red Bull when asked for his response to the remarks during Friday’s press conference at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“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,” the Frenchman said.
"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.
"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’ championship, level on points with McLaren but ahead on count back, with five races remaining.
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