18/07/2025 10:10
Former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner does not see a quick
shift occurring in Red Bull's results following the sacking of
Christian Horner. Red Bull confirmed earlier this month it had
parted ways with its long-time team principal. Laurent Mekies has
taken over at the helm of the Milton Keynes-based squad. Steiner
faced a similar situation at the beginning of January last year
when his contract with Haas was not renewed following a 10-year
stint as team principal. Red Bull has endured a difficult time on
the track of late and has had to rely on Max Verstappen to bring
home results in a notoriously tricky car to drive. With Horner out
of the picture, Steiner does not expect to see an uptick in results
in the near future. "In the short term, there is not a big impact
either way," Steiner told the Business of Sport podcast. "They are
racing cars. It's not a football team that you bring a new player
in so in the next game, you have got the new star or new talent
there. "If an [F1] team is good, it takes years to get bad. But
also, if you're bad, it takes years to build up to be good again.
"Now [with] Christian going, I think in the next year of races,
there will be no change in it [the results]. "The scene is already
set for next year. The cars are under development, Red Bull is
doing their own power unit. "That's all set up. If somebody now
comes in and changes, he or she wouldn't have the time to do
anything. "Now that Christian leaves, you will not see a spike,
neither down nor up." Mekies has taken over the reins at Red Bull
following an 18-month stint leading the Racing Bulls squad. Horner
final year with Red Bull was marred with difficulties both on and
off the track, which saw the emergence of a power struggle within
the organisation. However, with Max Verstappen already taking two
race wins this year, Steiner questioned how bad the situation
really is at Red Bull. "It will be more what is next? How are they
doing it, how are they restructuring? "What were their actual
problems with Christian? I don't know. The team still won races
this year. It isn't this bad." Steiner highlighted a key issue Red
Bull must get on top of is having two drivers bringing home
noteworthy results. "Obviously, they are not where they want to be
as a manufacturer, but I put that one down to that they can't get a
second driver who can keep up with Max," he said. "If you take Max
out, I think Red Bull would actually be last in the championship."