The dismissal of Christian Horner as Red Bull’s team boss also came as a surprise to Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar. The French rookie was in the Racing Bulls factory when he heard the news. According to Hadjar, there was mainly sadness within Red Bull’s sister team about the departure of Laurent Mekies, who has since taken over from Horner.
The sudden dismissal of Christian Horner at Red Bull was not only a surprise to the outside world. The team boss himself was also ‘shocked’, as the Brit revealed in his farewell speech. Isack Hadjar, a driver for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls since this season, heard about the Brit’s dismissal during a visit to the factory. “It was especially sad for the engineers and mechanics that Laurent (Mekies) has left our team,” Hadjar tells in Spa about Mekies’ promotion as Red Bull team boss. The Frenchman has been at the helm of Racing Bulls since 2024.
Hadjar admits that he himself did not work with Horner very often. “I worked more often with Helmut (Marko),” continues the Racing Bulls driver. “With Christian, the encounters were always brief. The contact was always with Helmut during my progression through the junior categories.”
‘You’re only as good as your last race’
Hadjar himself has recently been linked to Red Bull, following his departed team boss Mekies, especially due to the disappointing results of Yuki Tsunoda, who was promoted in March. The French driver has already admitted that a promotion to Red Bull is certainly his goal. According to Hadjar, the fact that his former team boss Mekies now holds the reins at the Austrians is certainly ‘convenient’. “If I can work with him, that would be easier. But there are still twelve races this year, and you’re only as good as your last race.”
