Christian Horner texts revealed by Red Bull replacement as sacked boss shows true colours

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed that Christian Horner 'was the first one to text' him after he was called up to replace the long-serving boss ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. The duo then spoke again via SMS on the morning of media day at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Horner's sacking came as a shock to most in the F1 paddock, with the 51-year-old departing Red Bull after 20 years and 14 World Championships with the organisation. In stepping up from Racing Bulls, Mekies becomes just the second team principal in the squad's storied history. Despite the abrupt nature of his dismissal, Horner has shown strong support to his successor. "We have spoken," Mekies revealed ahead of the Belgian GP. "He has been nothing else than supportive even in the extremely difficult context for him.

"He was the first one to text, he was the first one to call. I think, again this morning or yesterday we texted again. He has been nothing else than supportive, which is very impressive in the context.

"Nobody is going to replace his character. Nobody is going to replace him like for like. I come in to do the CEO and team principal job. Is there any way one can do it in the same way as Christian? No. Or at least, certainly not me."

Mekies' first race weekend in charge of his new team got off to a mixed start. Max Verstappen managed to get the better of Lando Norris in sprint qualifying, and then jumped championship leader Oscar Piastri on the opening lap of Saturday's mini race.

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From there, the Dutchman fended off the 24-year-old, who was in far superior machinery, utilising the RB21's straight-line speed to keep the McLaren man in his mirrors. However, on Sunday, Red Bull's fortunes took a turn for the worse.

After being pipped to third on the grid by Charles Leclerc, Verstappen was forced to stare at the rear wing of the Ferrari driver for the entire race, despite hounding him on intermediate tyres during the opening stint. This means that the four-time world champion is now 81 points behind Piastri at the top of the standings.

Yuki Tsunoda's luck was equally miserable, too. The Japanese racer was running comfortably inside the top 10, on course for his best result since joining from Racing Bulls, but the wet-to-dry transition shuffled him way down the order, scuppering his hopes of a strong finish.