The 2025 season will not have been a smooth ride for Red Bull. While Max Verstappen had to lose two points to Lando Norris, the Milton Keynes-based team was shaken by turbulence linked to a power struggle. It concluded with the departure of Christian Horner announced at the beginning of July with the British leader giving way to Laurent Mekies.
Managing Director of the Red Bull group, Oliver Mintzlaff spoke at length in an interview with the Dutch daily The telegraph in which he conceded that there was “too much going on in and around the team”. He thus evokes the affairs unrelated to the sporting aspect which could have undermined the performances of the team which remained on four drivers’ world championship titles with Max Verstappen.
Mintzlaff: “If people are distracted…”
Former manager of RB Leipzig, a football club also belonging to the Red Bull galaxy, Oliver Mintzlaff ventured a parallel between football and Formula 1 from the point of view of workforce management. “It doesn’t matter then whether you have the best eleven players or the best driver in the world, like Max Verstappen, but if people are distracted and lose concentration, the team cannot give its best,” he said. It is in this context that Christian Horner in July then Helmut Marko once the season ended were dismissed. While the former Austrian driver was not kind towards the Briton, it is not the same story with the boss of the Red Bull group.
“These words about Christian Horner are those of Helmut Marko,” said Oliver Mintzlaff. I can’t say anything negative about Christian. Quite simply because he meant a lot to Red Bull. » Nevertheless, he readily concedes that “it was time for a change” to initiate a new dynamic with a fresh eye. “If we focus solely on the competition, it’s Laurent Mekies who is in charge. I am not worried, added the German leader. I know these changes make us better. And yes, you have to get out of your comfort zone. I’m really not going to change anything if I think everything is fine. » While the 2026 season will be synonymous with profound changes on the Milton Keynes side, with the transition to the engine designed in collaboration with Ford, this position risks being very quickly put to the test.
