Tension at Red Bull after Horner’s exit? Marko responds

Although Laurent Mekies has already actively started working to turn things around and, above all, convince Max Verstappen to remain at Red Bull in the future, it’s clear that the departure of a long-standing figure like Christian Horner won’t be easily forgotten.

In recent days, there’s been quite a bit of unrest both inside and outside the walls of Milton Keynes following remarks made by a Red Bull staff member to The Sun.

Some team members reportedly didn’t take too kindly to certain comments from Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff in the wake of the dismissal news.

“It was only a day after Christian was sacked and a lot of the team were still upset when Mr Marko addressed us, but he just made a joke of it and told us to cheer up — he said, ‘You need to smile more,’” a source reportedly revealed, highlighting the lack of sensitivity in the Austrian’s words.

When asked by Kleine Zeitung whether he was aware of any discontent within the team or even the possibility that some of Horner’s loyal staff might resign after what had happened, Marko dismissed the rumors with a simple: “We are not aware of anything.”

The Austrian’s sole focus at the moment is on the arrival of Laurent Mekies and ensuring that the transition moves forward as smoothly as possible.

''The transition went smoothly. Mekies knows people and approaches them; hopefully, this will have a positive effect,'' he said about it.