SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium :Former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner posted a video on social media of himself riding on horseback in the English countryside on the day of the Belgian Grand Prix.
“Different horse power this Sunday,” read the simple caption.
Spa-Francorchamps marked the start of a new era for the former Formula One champions, the first race without Horner – dismissed two weeks ago – at the helm since Red Bull entered the sport in 2005.
New boss Laurent Mekies started with a win, with Max Verstappen taking the Saturday sprint, and then a frustrating fourth place for the Dutch four-times world champion in the main Sunday grand prix.
Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda failed to score for the sixth race in a row.
Apart from expressing surprise at the long delay in getting the race started, due to heavy rain, Mekies avoided any polemic.
He blamed the team for Tsunoda’s blank, saying the Japanese had done a great job in qualifying but was called in too late for his pitstop in a mistake that cost him three or four positions.
“After two weeks at the factory, trying to meet as many people as possible, it was nice to also meet the race team,” said the Frenchman when asked to assess the weekend.
“To also enter into the race dynamics and see how the flows and the processes and preparation are. That was super-good in terms of getting to know the team. As you would imagine, it’s a team where everything is done at the mega level.”
Horner’s absence was the talk of the paddock but by the time the circus regroups in Budapest next week, the conversation is likely to have moved on.
“I think Laurent is very good. The sport moves on quickly, so it probably won’t be something that we’re talking about come Monday,” McLaren boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports television.
“He (Horner) had fantastic results. It’s a shame to kind of go out the way he did.”
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said earlier in the weekend that he would miss his old sparring partner and Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ protagonist – in a way – and expected him to return sooner or later.
“I don’t think he’s gone forever. I think he’s going to pop up in some kind of other function,” said the Austrian.
