Red Bull is “better off” with Laurent Mekies at the helm instead of Christian Horner, according to former Formula 1 team boss Guenther Steiner.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has enjoyed an upturn in form since the resumption of the summer break, with Max Verstappen claiming victory in Baku and Monza.
Mekies has been praised for the new approach he has taken at the helm, having commenced work immediately after the team’s firing of Horner, days after the British Grand Prix.
It ended the 51-year-old’s 20-year tenure at the top, having been its only Team Principal.
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner was posed the topic: “Red Bull is better off with Mekies than Horner,” and was prompted to say ‘gas’ to agree, or ‘brake’ to disagree.
“Gas,” Steiner responded. “And the reason is, it seems the team is calmer.
“Before, it was every week and there was a news story, they didn’t get on, this guy didn’t get one with this one.
“At the moment, they seem to be working in harmony, and therefore, I think they are better off.”
Previous Red Bull ‘unhappiness’ part of Steiner’s thinking on Horner
Horner’s ties to Red Bull were officially severed on Tuesday, having agreed a whopping payout with the team.
Horner’s tenure ended amid a contentious period within the team, where there appeared to be somewhat of a power struggle within the ranks.
It came after a period in which Horner was the subject of allegations surrounding his private life, which were later dismissed.
The team’s harmony appeared to be under threat, which Steiner believes has been restored since Mekies’ arrival.
“I’m not putting this one down, the results they had the last two races, to Christian being gone,” he said.
“I just put it down to, there was unhappiness, but that was now for one-and-a-half years in the team. And now, it seems to be working pretty smooth.
“And obviously, Laurent, he is a good leader. He’s very calm. He doesn’t get involved in politics and stuff like this. He’s just doing his job.
“And before, there was just, like, always friction in the team between different parties, and I never understood between who it was.
“So, I think therefore, they are better off. Therefore, it’s ‘gas’, yeah.
“They’re not worse off. They’re winning races with Laurent there. It’s not down to Laurent, in my opinion. I wouldn’t give him credit for that, but I would give him credit for calming everything down inside the team.”
Steiner added: “I don’t credit the results, the last two wins. They are not because Laurent is there. I think the team in general is better off now for the future.
“The results, you cannot come in and the next day having wins. It cannot happen.”
READ MORE – The ‘coaching’ Yuki Tsunoda has received as Red Bull F1 drive hangs in the balance
Discussion about this post