Red Bull ‘sources’ reveal mistake bigger than losing Adrian Newey behind Christian Horner’s fall

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Red Bull Racing have undergone a near-total transformation in their leadership over the past two seasons.

Christian Horner’s exit, while not on his own terms, marks another significant shift in the team’s structure.

Laurent Mekies has stepped into Horner’s role and now finds himself working with a very different group from the one that powered Red Bull through their last era of dominance.

During his time as chief designer, Adrian Newey was central to Red Bull’s rise. However, he felt his influence wasn’t fully recognised by Horner and has since moved on to play a key role at Aston Martin.

Jonathan Wheatley, once Horner’s go-to man for pit stops and regulations, is now leading Sauber as their team principal.

This season will also be Will Courtenay’s last as Red Bull’s head strategist before he joins McLaren. But inside the team, there’s talk that another departure might have an even bigger impact than any of those three moves combined.

Red Bull staff believe that losing Rob Marshall was a bigger mistake than Adrian Newey leaving

Daniel Moxon, writing on his Substack, went through all the details surrounding Horner’s sacking.

He pointed out that Courtenay’s departure hasn’t been finalised yet, even though McLaren have already announced his arrival. The switch is expected to be sorted by next season.

But according to ‘multiple sources inside Red Bull’, it was the loss of Rob Marshall to McLaren that had the most significant impact during Horner’s tenure.

Marshall joined Red Bull in 2006 alongside Newey, though he remained a lesser-known figure among fans.

Since taking on the role of chief designer at McLaren, he’s played a key part in their rise from backmarkers to constructors champions in two years.

The timing of McLaren’s climb has lined up closely with Red Bull’s struggles over the same period.

Both Horner and those above him at Red Bull saw Marshall’s exit as a major reason for the team falling behind their main competitors.

• READ MORE: What does Christian Horner believe he needs to do to join Ferrari and replace Fred Vasseur

Rob Marshall has led one ‘true innovation’ at McLaren that rivals can’t replicate this season

The car is also filled with new ideas and creative touches that are setting the pace for others to follow.

The FIA has thoroughly checked over every part of the car this year but hasn’t found any violations so far.

This version of Lando Norris could’ve walked into any F1 team over the past decade and instantly become their best driver in terms of ability alone

Since 2023, Lando Norris has developed into one of the best drivers on the grid under Andrea Stella at McLaren. He finished third in back-to-back seasons and played an important role in helping Oscar Piastri develop quickly into an elite young driver alongside him too.