Paul Monaghan, Red Bull’s chief engineer, says he won’t skirt the Christian Horner topic as the Briton did “everything” for him and the team, but now it is time to rally around Laurent Mekies. Horner was axed by Red Bull in a bombshell announcement two weeks ago as Red Bull GmbH higher-ups called time on his 20-year tenure with the Formula 1 team.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has said that the team's poor performance this season was the main factor behind the decision to sack Christian Horner. On July 9, the team principal was dismissed from his role after 20 years at the helm and was immediately replaced by Laurent Mekies.