Red Bull Racing team advisor Dr Helmut Marko is still hopeful of winning the Drivers’ Championship in the 2025 F1 season despite Christian Horner’s absence from the team. The latter parted ways unexpectedly earlier this month after serving as team principal for twenty years.
Plenty of reasons were associated with Horner’s departure from the team mid-season. These included the allegations against him last year for ‘inappropriate behavior,’ team performance, and driver choices. Red Bull Racing lost its dominance at the top of the grid last year. The team has witnessed a decline in its performance since. They currently stand in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. There seems to be no way for them to win against the dominating McLaren.
However, Max Verstappen has managed to keep himself within the top three of the Drivers’ Championship. While Oscar Piastri continues to lead, Verstappen sits in third place with a 69-point gap. Although closing the gap seems challenging given their performance, RBR is motivated.
Advisor Helmut Marko, reacting to Christian Horner’s sacking, mentioned that the team would attempt to clinch the title in the remaining races.
“Christian and I have worked together very successfully for over 20 years – both in Formula 1 and in Formula 3000. I would like to sincerely thank Christian for that. During this time, we were able to celebrate an incredible number of outstanding achievements. We helped develop two World Drivers’ Champions and several Grand Prix winners. That has always been – and still is – the Red Bull way.” he said (via RacingNews365).
“As for the current sporting situation: there are still 12 races to go, and we will continue to fight for the Drivers’ Championship as long as it’s mathematically possible,” he added.
Will Red Bull get back to performing at the top in the 2026 F1 season?
The 2026 F1 season is set to bring major changes. There will be new engine and aerodynamic regulations; moreover, an 11th team, Cadillac, will be on the grid. However, there are other challenges that Red Bull could face.
The new engine regulations could set new levels for the grid. At the same time, Honda is set to depart from RBR as the team will be working on their engines alongside Ford. Considering their inexperience with power units, there is a possibility that they could struggle with making a strong, reliable engine.
Furthermore, the team does not have Adrian Newey anymore. The legendary car designer was known for his aerodynamically efficient cars, which helped the team establish dominance over the grid multiple times. He left the team and moved to Aston Martin. The allegations against Christian Horner were mentioned as one of the reasons for his quitting.
Red Bull currently lacks a large part of its championship-winning crew from earlier. This could see the team in a difficult position in the 2026 season. Laurent Mekies replaced Christian Horner as team principal, but it is currently unknown if he will be able to lead the team similarly to Horner.
