Could Yuki Tsunoda receive a boost from Christian Horner sack?

Christian Horner’s shocking dismissal from Red Bull Racing after two decades as the outfit’s team principal has kept the motorsport media world buzzing over what transpired — and what could happen next.

And according to F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher, Horner’s sacking could be a blessing in disguise for driver Yuki Tsunoda.

Ralf Schumacher’s Yuki Tsunoda hypothesis after Christian Horner sack

Things at Red Bull Racing are about to look much different.

Just after the British Grand Prix came the surprising news that CEO and team principal Christian Horner had been relieved of operation responsibility, and replaced by Laurent Mekies.

Many theories have emerged to explain the sudden nature of the exit, ranging from Red Bull’s dramatic dip in performance to potential shareholder manoeuvrings, but one thing is clear: we won’t know quite what to expect from the outfit until it hits the track again ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month.

Understanding the Christian Horner sacking:

? Why has Christian Horner been sacked by Red Bull?

? The hidden details in Christian Horner’s final media session as Red Bull F1 boss

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, former F1 driver turned pundit Ralf Schumacher pointed out one potential change we could with second driver Yuki Tsunoda under Mekies’ leadership.

Red Bull’s new boss has amassed an impressive resumé in the racing world, getting his start in Formula 3 before moving to F1 with Arrows and then Minardi.

He remained with Minardi when it was purchased by Red Bull and renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso, serving as the team’s chief engineer. In 2014, he moved to the FIA to serve as safety director and was appointed deputy race director in 2017 before joining forces with Scuderia Ferrari as first sporting director and then racing director.

But in 2023, Mekies stepped away from Ferrari and returned to the team that was once known as Toro Rosso and was instead called Racing Bulls. He then promoted again to Red Bull Racing CEO after Horner’s departure.

According to Schumacher, Mekies is “an incredibly experienced man, very close to the technology.

“He understands the car, was also at Ferrari for a very long time, knows his way around and also has that human element that Red Bull has been lacking a bit recently.

“Yuki Tsunoda will also be pleased to have this boss, who will support him a little more. Logically, they know each other very well.”

Red Bull Racing has gained a reputation as a cutthroat F1 team, unafraid of swapping drivers between its primary team and Racing Bulls when one driver’s performance proves lacking.

Tsunoda was one such driver, only earning his promotion to Red Bull Racing when the team determined Liam Lawson was not living up to its expectations. Unfortunately, Tsunoda has also struggled to drive the RB21.

The hope seems to be that promoting an engineering-minded person to the top slot at Red Bull will be the first step toward guiding Red Bull out of its current performance slump — and Schumacher agrees.

“I think that was a very good decision and, above all, it also shows this dynamic at Red Bull with these two teams: how you build up personnel or even people in the sister team and then take them up,” he explained

“Mekies is absolutely ready and I believe that he will do a great job.”

Further, he’s someone who has worked closely with Tsunoda in the past and who seemed to understand how to eke as much performance as possible from the Japanese driver — something that will certainly be welcome given Red Bull’s current struggles.

Read next: Why Christian Horner? Why now? Shock exit may not guarantee Max Verstappen