World champion shocked by Horner dismissal news: 'He is Red Bull'

Earlier this month, the Red Bull Racing team announced that Horner had been relieved of his duties as team principal with immediate effect, and he would be replaced by Laurent Mekies. The news came as a bolt from the blue for many, and as a result, it remains the talk of the town.

Two-time world champion Fittipaldi finds it very difficult to see Horner leave the Austrian team, as became clear from his reaction to the news."Christian is the Red Bull team," said the Brazilian in an interview with Sport.de. A clear statement from the 1972 and 1974 world champion.

"He has won so many titles and has taken care of so many drivers," continued the 78-year-old. However, Fittipaldi can't help but acknowledge that difficult situations like this are simply part of life. "Sometimes things change in life," he said. "Hopefully, he finds a new challenge soon. That's life!"

Red Bull development driver Jake Dennis told GPblog that he was surprised by the departure of the team principal. Dennis said that due to his own busy schedule, he was not fully aware of all the developments within Red Bull, so he was not aware that this was going to happen. However, he also stated that even the staff members who are present at the Red Bull factory every day did not know that such a significant change was in the pipeline.