F1 chief Helmut Marko hints Red Bull had 'given up' under Christian Horner

Dr. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Helmut Marko hints Red Bull had 'given up' under Christian Horner

Red Bull axed Christian Horner in July

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 22 October 2025 18:57 Updated: 21:20

Helmut Marko has said that Red Bull had 'given up' on their season during the summer, after praising changes made by Christian Horner's replacement, Laurent Mekies.

The Frenchman took over from long-serving team principal Christian Horner back in July, when Red Bull sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship with no sign of improvement.

Horner had won eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships across 20 years as team boss with the Milton Keynes outfit, but it was looking unlikely that they would challenge for either honour in 2025 when the Brit was axed.

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Since then, Max Verstappen has claimed three grands prix victories, and is in the hunt for the drivers' title, currently sat just 40 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri with five race weekends and two further sprint races remaining.

The RB21 now looks competitive at every race weekend in the hands of the Dutchman compared to the previously dominant McLaren, and Marko has praised both the form of Verstappen, and the small tweaks that have been made at the team since Mekies replaced Horner.

Speaking to Sky Germany after the US Grand Prix that saw Verstappen claim sprint race and main race victories, Marko said: "With his victory at the Nurburgring, Max Verstappen has come back incredibly motivated.

"There's been a change. Laurent has managed to establish a different approach in the technical setup and the overall approach. We're no longer miles away on Friday."

Marko later continued: "We had already given up everything in the summer, and now everyone is hungry again."

Will Verstappen win the title?

Four-time world champion Verstappen is arguably now the favourite to claim drivers' championship success in 2025.

He has whittled down Piastri's lead over him to just 40 points, when it was at one point sat at 104 points.

On top of this, the efforts of Red Bull's star driver also mean that despite still sitting down in fourth in the constructors' standings, Mekies' team are now just three points behind third-placed Ferrari.

Between himself, Piastri and Lando Norris, Verstappen is the only one to have championship-winning pedigree, and will be using every ounce of that experience in the coming months.

Shortly after Mekies joined the team, Verstappen also confirmed that he would be staying at Red Bull for the 2026 season, another huge boost to the outfit who are hoping to once more challenge for titles next year.

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