F1 champion opens up on Red Bull improvements after Christian Horner departure

Life after Christian Horner has well and truly begun for Red Bull, with four months passing on the calendar since the Brit was sacked from his role as team principal.

Horner's 20 years leading the team were brought to an unceremonious end this summer, after more than a year of turmoil on and off the track.

Since Horner departed, things have improved significantly for the Milton Keynes team with Max Verstappen roaring back into title contention and Laurent Mekies ushering in a new era of calm as team principal.

The Red Bull machine appears to be humming again, but are the problems which led to Horner’s exit really fixed for good? Sebastian Vettel for one believes it is way too early to be sure.

Vettel won four consecutive world titles with Horner between 2010 and 2013, before leaving for Ferrari in 2015. He knows the team and he knows how it works.

Vettel shocked by Horner exit

While the early signs under Mekies are positive following his promotion from leading Racing Bulls, Vettel is not ready yet to hand him every bit of the credit.

"I think for this year, everything was in place,” he claimed.

“I know Laurent as well, the success, and I worked with him and he’s a really, really great person. But I think Christian left some big footsteps, not just because of all the success he’s had with the team, but also I think he was such a central part of the team. He knew what was going on and so on.”

Is Mekies the long-term answer?

For now the decision to move Mekies up appears to be an inspired one, but Vettel wants more evidence before he anoints the 48-year-old Frenchman.

"I’m not completely aware of the organisation, the structure, and especially the plan for the future. But that’s where I think it’s valid to say, let’s wait and see how it turns out.”

Verstappen is fighting an uphill battle to surpass Vettel’s Red Bull record by claiming a fifth consecutive world title. He heads to the Las Vegas Grand Prix next weekend some 49 points behind leader Lando Norris with just three race weekends remaining.

But that position still represents a massive improvement - he had been more than 100 points off the pace heading into the summer break with Mekies newly installed as team principal.

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