Red Bull stalwart ‘won’t dump the truth’ with fighting talking after Horner sacking

Paul Monaghan, Red Bull’s chief engineer, says he won’t skirt the Christian Horner topic as the Briton did “everything” for him and the team, but now it is time to rally around Laurent Mekies.

Horner was axed by Red Bull in a bombshell announcement two weeks ago as Red Bull GmbH higher-ups called time on his 20-year tenure with the Formula 1 team.

Red Bull’s chief engineer reacts to Christian Horner sack

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Reportedly summoned to a meeting in London in the days after the British Grand Prix, Horner was informed that he had been released from his operational duties with immediate effect.

It means this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix is the very first race weekend in Red Bull’s 21-year F1 history that Horner is not the man in charge.

Red Bull’s brief statement read: “Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today (9 July 2025) and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing,”

The announcement sent shockwaves down the paddock given Horner had been Red Bull’s team principal since the team’s very first race at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix, which was impressively a double points haul.

Five years later, the team won its first of eight Drivers’ Championship titles as Sebastian Vettel came from behind in the standings to pip Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and his own Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to the title.

That was the first of Red Bull’s two four-year championship runs, and while this year Max Verstappen’s reign could potentially end at the hands of McLaren, the Dutch racing driver is still in the running as he trails Oscar Piastri by 69 points halfway through the season.

And yet Red Bull made the call to sack Horner.

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Monaghan, who joined Red Bull a year into Horner’s leadership, says even he was shocked by the decision.

“I won’t dump the truth. It was a shock to me,” he told media including PlanetF1.com at the Belgian Grand Prix. “Sad.

“Christian’s put a large chunk of his working life into the team, and we’ve all together as a team we’ve enjoyed a huge amount of success, perhaps unwarranted to some views, whatever. What’s done is done.

“And say thank you to Christian for everything he did for personally for me and for this team.”

Now for the first time in two decades, Red Bull have a new man in charge – Laurent Mekies.

The former Ferrari racing director joined the Red Bull family in 2024 when he signed as Racing Bulls team principal, replacing Franz Tost.

Eighteen months later, he’s in charge of a Red Bull team that’s in the midst of a downward spiral.

“Laurent’s got quite a difficult situation to be dropped in,” Monaghan said. “I’ve known him for many years, very personable, smart chap.

“So now it’s up to us to pull together as a team, because there are 10 other people who can’t wait to, or nine other teams, who can’t wait to fight us.

“So if we’re going to stand up to them, we have to stand as a team. We are preparing to stand as a team.

“Laurent is doing his utmost to ensure that is what we are aiming to do. And we will do so.”

Red Bull are currently fourth in the Constructors’ Championship where they are 288 points down on championship leaders McLaren. It looks a little better in the Drivers’ standings with Verstappen 69 points behind Piastri.

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