Mekies Rejects Horner's 'Lost Its Mojo' Claim, Credits Red Bull's Fighting Spirit

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has dismissed Christian Horner's suggestion that the Milton Keynes squad has "lost its mojo" since his exit, arguing the team's spirit is precisely what powered a "very remarkable" turnaround this season.

Why it matters:

Horner ran Red Bull for two decades before leaving in July 2025 and is now promoting his memoir, Drive. His comments to The Times reopened a sore subject at a team still settling into its post-Horner era while scrapping for constructors' position.

The details:

• Horner claimed the team had "lost its mojo, its presence, its vibe" since his departure.
• Mekies, speaking at Friday's team principals' press conference in Mexico City, said Horner is "entitled to his opinion" and that he respects the view — but sees it very differently.
• "It's always one thing to have a positive spirit when you are winning races, it's something else to have that same fighting spirit and unity between the team members when you are put under pressure," he said.
• He conceded a difficult first half of the year on both the chassis and power unit sides, crediting staff for setting "the Milton Keynes department on fire" to recover, and the drivers for their brutally honest feedback.
• Red Bull currently sits third in the constructors' standings, level on points with fourth-placed McLaren.

What's next:

Mekies is measuring progress in titles, not race wins. "The target is not to win one race or two races; the target is to be back to world titles, and until we are there, nobody will feel we have achieved anything."