Max Verstappen 'looking forward' to post-Christian Horner era at Red Bull

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has expressed his excitement at working with new Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, after Christian Horner's brutal sacking.

Horner was axed following the British Grand Prix after a period of poor results for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

It put an end to 20 years of performing the role of team principal, meaning neither Red Bull - nor Verstappen during his time at Red Bull - have ever gone into a race weekend without Horner as team boss.

That will change this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, however, with former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies gearing up for his first race with the main Red Bull team.

Speaking to Red Bull's website before the weekend, Verstappen explained how he is looking forward to working with Mekies, as the team head into a new era.

"Spa is a classic and always my favourite track on the calendar; a very old school circuit where you have to do everything right to get a good lap," the Dutchman said.

"I enjoy the high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge, the layout which is different to other circuits and elevation changes that make the track more of a challenge to drive.

"Silverstone wasn’t our best performance but it was a promising step to put it on pole in qualifying. I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the sim with the team and I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent.

"There is always huge support in Belgium from the Orange Army and it is like a second home race for me, so I will be back wearing the Orange Lion helmet and my special cap and boots."

Can Mekies turn Red Bull's fortunes around?

Red Bull are currently sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship, and are out of both championship races for 2025.

Verstappen has only managed to win two of the first 12 races of the season and finds himself 69 points off championship leader Oscar Piastri, while Red Bull are 288 points behind McLaren already.

Part of their problem has been the fact that Verstappen has scored 165 of their 172 points, with second drivers Yuki Tsunoda and first Liam Lawson struggling to consistently score points.

Mekies will potentially be looking to make the RB21 more of a driveable car for both of Red Bull's drivers, to help Tsunoda to pick up a few more points and push the team towards a top-three finish in the constructors' championship.

Another of Mekies' main responsibilities will be to try and prove to Verstappen that the team can provide him with a car capable of challenging for regular race victories, with the Dutchman's future with the team currently being called into question.

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