Red Bull Racing ousts Christian Horner once and for all

Shortly after the British Grand Prix Red Bull Racing announced it was parting ways with Horner whose roles as team principal and CEO would be taken over by the then Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies.

Since then, despite not being involved in any of Red Bull's activities, the Brit remained employed by the Austrians due to ongoing negotiations in the background regarding the final details of the Briton's departure.

Both parties now see eye-to-eye on the terms and thus an agreement has been reached which sees Horner officially out of the Red Bull structure, GPblog understands.

Certain reports suggest the Brit has received a $100 million severance payout, and clearance to make his F1 comeback, however, this remains to be confirmed.

With regards to a potential return to Formula One, Horner would still have to serve a gardening leave period before taking a leadership role at any team in the series.

Red Bull Racing, since Mekies came onboard as team principal has been taking consistent steps toward the top, managing what no other team in F1 has done in the current campaign: they beat McLaren on two consecutive race weekends.

World Champion Max Verstappen has on many occasions stated how happy he finds himself under Mekies' leadership, praising the common sense with which the Frenchman approaches each race weekend.

Red Bull's top advisor Helmut Marko has also expressed his satisfaction with Mekies at the helm of the Austrian racing team, attributing the changes in the team's environment and their way of operating to the Frenchman.

In the five race weekends since Mekies took over, Red Bull and Verstappen have gone from writing off any sort of Drivers' title aspirations, to seemingly being back in the fray for the crown, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit even looking to get in the mix with Mercedes and Ferrari for P2 in the Constructors' Championship