Christian Horner’s exit will make it tougher for Red Bull: Jacques Villeneuve

CHENNAI: Christian Horner’s two-decade reign as the Red Bull team principal came to a shocking end earlier this July, marking a seismic shift for a team he built from the ground up into an F1 powerhouse. The 51-year-old, who had led the team since its inception in 2005, oversaw eight drivers’ and six constructors’ championship titles. As the dust settles and the team gears up for the Belgian Grand Prix, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve feels the impact of Horner’s exit could run deeper than it appears.

“Christian brought the team to where it is now. In the short term, yes, Red Bull will miss him because he’s the one who’s been running that team for so many years, brought it to a lot of championships and has the respect of the mechanics, of all the guys in the office as well. So when you cut the top of the pyramid, it has a big effect, and rarely a positive one,” said Villeneuve during a media interaction arranged by FanCode, the official broadcaster for F1 in India.

At the halfway stage of the championship, while teams like McLaren have surged forward, Red Bull are clearly struggling. Their drop to fourth in the constructors’ standings shows a dip in form. New team principal Laurent Mekies has a tough task ahead, and Villeneuve believes the timing only adds to the challenge.

“He (Christian) always kept the boat floating in the right direction. But the team was already suffering after losing Adrian Newey (chief technical officer) and a few others. There were already cracks in the building. This is the biggest one. Mekies has good experience and did great work at Racing Bulls. He’s still in-house, not someone brought in from outside. But it’ll take time, especially with the cars not being that competitive. That will make it harder on Mekies’ shoulders,” said the 1997 drivers’ champion.

Even Red Bull primary driver Max Verstappen (third in the drivers’ standings), who has won four consecutive F1 titles after a near-flawless run from late 2022 into early last year, has loosened his grip with just two wins (off 12 Grands Prix) so far this season. But Villeneuve sees no dip in the Dutchman’s hunger.

“Max is a different beast. He’s a pure racer, so he doesn’t get too affected emotionally. It doesn’t matter whether he’s leading or running 10th, he will fight just as hard. He’s always out there giving his 100 per cent, taking the risks, trying to always get that extra tenth of a second or that extra position, whether he’s leading or not. He seems to be the same Max now that he was when he was winning every race,” said the Canadian former racer.

Meanwhile, McLaren are enjoying their time at the top. Oscar Piastri leads the driver's standings with teammate Lando Norris right behind.

“Lando seems to be more emotional than Piastri, but he has a little bit of the edge on speed. So when you take the two into account, it's really hard to know which one has the better shot at winning. But there’s a big difference between being the team leader or the championship leader and being the underdog. Lando seems to be better when he’s a little bit behind and he has to fight back to come forward. So, he’s in a good position right now.”