Mekies unfazed by Horner's Red Bull claim: 'I think that's our spirit'
Photo: Race Pictures
Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Laurent Mekies says the atmosphere at Red Bull Racing has changed since Christian Horner left the team. The Frenchman could not praise his team enough for the turnaround it has achieved this season.
In an interview with The Times, Horner said that the Austrian outfit is no longer what it was since he left. He commented: "I think if you look at that team 12 months down the line, it’s lost its mojo, its presence, its vibe."
During the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, current team boss was asked about Horner's verdict. He began: "Look, at first, Christian is entitled to his opinion. He obviously spent a lot of time in this team and I respect his point of view."
The Frenchman also explained that he is very happy with the current 'vibe' of the team.
He continued: "We certainly feel extremely different about the vibe in the team. I think one of the strong points we have been enjoying certainly in the last few months is the incredible team spirit that have allowed us to come back from an objectively very difficult moment. It's one thing to have a positive spirit when you are winning races, it's something else to have that same fighting spirit and remain united when you are put under pressure.
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"And the way the team stuck together, the way the team set the Milton Keynes department on fire to try to come back, the way they have done that, from the constructively challenging matters raised by any of our team members to the brutally honest comments of our drivers, I think that's the Red Bull spirit. That's certainly how we feel we need to go racing," Mekies explained.
Photo: Race Pictures
Mekies happy with Red Bull's turn around, but the goal is to battle for the title
After a challenging start to the season, Max Verstappen has won two Grands Prix in Malaysia and Singapore and finished on the podium last weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.
Mekies is happy with the progress, but added that winning Grands Prix is not the final goal. "The guys got the reward they deserved with the turnaround that they have produced, which is, I think, very remarkable. But ultimately, we are well aware that we live and die with our results. And the target is not to win one race or two races. The target is to get back to winning world titles. And until we are there, nobody will feel that we have achieved anything."
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