29/07/2025 11:05
Red Bull's Paul Monaghan has expressed his "shock" and 'sadness' at
the unexpected departure of Christian Horner. After 20 years in
charge, Horner was dismissed as team principal and CEO on July 9th,
bringing to an end the reign of one of F1's most successful team
bosses, with 124 wins from 405 races, and 14 combined world
championship titles. He has been replaced by Laurent Mekies, with
Red Bull hoping to arrest an alarming drop in performance over the
past 12 months. Monaghan joined Horner at Red Bull at the end of
the team's first season in 2005, eventually rising to the position
of chief engineer, and has expressed his surprise at the departure
of his long-time team boss. "I figured we might get into this
topic," Monaghan began when asked by RacingNews365 for the impact
of Horner's exit and how Mekies had settled in. "I won't duck the
truth, it was a shock to me, it is sad. "Christian has put a large
chunk of his working life into the team, and together as a team,
we've achieved a huge amount of success, perhaps unwarranted to
some views, but whatever, what is done is done. "I want to say
thank you to Christian for everything he did, personally for me,
and for this team." The article continues below. Red Bull's new
leader Mekies has an extensive CV in senior positions in F1, having
served as chief engineer at Toro Rosso, safety director and deputy
race director at the FIA, deputy team principal at Ferrari before
moving to Racing Bulls. There, he was team principal, having joined
ahead of its 2024 rebrand from AlphaTauri, and has an engineering
background, as opposed to Horner's more global and political view.
Reflecting on how Mekies has settled in, Monaghan felt he was doing
his "utmost" to pull the team together. "Laurent has got quite a
difficult situation to be dropped into," Monaghan continued. "I've
known him for many years, he's a very personable and smart chap, so
it is up to us now to pull together because there are nine other
teams who can't wait to fight us. "If we are going to stand up to
them, we have to stand up as a team, and we are preparing to stand
as a team. Laurent is doing his utmost to ensure that is what we're
aiming to do, and we will do so."
