Red Bull’s Morale Since Christian Horner Exit As Max Verstappen Claim Made
Red Bull staff have spoken out about the change in morale following Christian Horner's shock departure and how Max Verstappen's resurgence has changed the mood within the team.
It was a tough first half of the season for Red Bull, with Verstappen unable to keep pace with the McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Then, in July, Horner left the team after 20 years in charge.
In early 2024, he was accused of inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a female colleague, but an internal investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.
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Another independent lawyer later came to the same conclusion.
Laurent Mekies was subsequently appointed as Red Bull team principal, having been promoted from Red Bull's junior team Racing Bulls.
Although Yuki Tsunoda has continued to struggle in the second Red Bull seat, Verstappen has since experienced an upturn in form.
The Dutchman appeared to have dragged himself back into the title fight, but Norris now sits 49 points clear of the reigning world champion with just three weekends left.
While Verstappen's hopes of a fifth successive title have faded, journalist Rebecca Clancy told the BBC's Inside Track podcast that morale within Red Bull has improved.
She said: “I think Red Bull has been really impressive, particularly since Mekies has come in.
“For Verstappen, and for the team, they’ve gone, ‘Actually, yeah. Have a bit of fun.’
"You hear all the stories coming out from the factory [that] the culture is changing a bit.
“The development and how they approach races is changing to their advantage. They do seem to be in quite a good place at the moment."
Supercar Blondie reported Mekies has made several changes since taking charge, improving the team's operations across race weekends.
The Red Bull boss was full of praise for Verstappen following his remarkable drive at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Despite starting from the pit lane, the Dutchman came through the field to finish third, narrowly behind second-placed Kimi Antonelli.
It was reminiscent of an astonishing drive at Interlagos last year, when he started 12th on the grid and went on to win by nearly 20 seconds.
After this year's race, Mekies said: "Credit to Max for the sensational drive.
"He won last year here from P17 in the wet, and I think we would probably agree that it was as sensational as last year to bring it to P3 from the pit lane on a dry, relatively uneventful race."
The Frenchman continued: "That's the spirit in our current racing. We had our highs and lows.
"The car was alive today. That's the most important thing. The car was probably good enough to fight for the win today."
Topics: Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Christian Horner, Formula 1
James Taylor