克里斯蒂安·霍纳质疑拉乌尔·梅基斯领导下的红牛“独行侠”身份
克里斯蒂安·霍纳质疑红牛在拉乌尔·梅基斯领导下的反传统形象，暗示车队放弃了其颠覆性传统。
克里斯蒂安·霍纳质疑红牛的‘独行侠’身份
克里斯蒂安·霍纳质疑红牛在被解雇后的身份，暗示车队已经放弃了其颠覆性传统
对于红牛车队的粉丝来说，关注红牛赛车新闻、车手更新、技术洞察和比赛分析
在过去二十年里，红牛车队将自己定义为一级方程式的反传统颠覆者。由已故奥地利亿万富翁迪特里希·马特希奇特创立，并由克里斯蒂安·霍纳在维修区铁腕管理，米尔顿凯恩斯车队自豪于做传统制造商认为不可能的事情：最终在2021年大胆创立了红牛动力系统。
然而，在2025年7月被无情解雇一年多后，霍纳对车队当前的身份进行了尖锐的批评。在接受《卫报》采访时，这位前车队负责人表示，推动红牛赢得14个世界冠军的非传统基因在公司首席执行官奥利弗·明茨拉夫和他的维修区继任者劳伦特·梅基斯手下已经衰退。
在他的任期内，霍纳经常与公司管理层和竞争对手发生冲突，他倾向于讲述一家私营能源饮料公司挑战传统汽车巨头的叙事。现在看看这个组织，霍纳认为这种优势已经显著减弱。
“红牛一直是特立独行的车队。它推动了边界，”霍纳表示。“只有红牛才会做出如此疯狂的事情，作为一家汽水制造商的子公司来建造一台新引擎。它的座右铭是非传统，是颠覆性的。现在有点不同了。”
马克斯·维斯塔潘，红牛车队，克里斯蒂安·霍纳，红牛车队
这种转变反映了马特希茨对霍纳放任自流、完全信任的支持与2022年底马特希茨去世后明茨拉夫实施的更加集中、董事会驱动的结构之间的鲜明对比。没有一个人同时领导体育和商业运营并拥有完全自主权，车队从敏捷的颠覆者转变为一个经过消毒的 企业运营。
将责任推给梅克斯和维斯塔潘的动态
当被问及目前管理车库的内部权力动态时，霍纳的批评变得更加尖锐。直接问他今天实际上是谁在掌控车队——梅克斯，他曾经的体育总监，他将其招聘到红牛生态系统中，还是四次冠军维斯塔潘——霍纳的反应颇具说明性。
“我不想被卷入其中，”霍纳笑着，然后给出了一个精心调整的非支持性评论。“最终，奥利弗·明茨拉夫是最资深的，显然维斯塔潘是一个巨大的资产。我雇佣了劳伦特，但无法评判他的运作方式。”
马克斯·维斯塔潘，红牛车队，劳伦特·梅基斯，红牛车队车队总监
通过绕过梅基斯在维修区的权限来凸显明茨拉夫的企业高层地位以及维斯塔潘纯粹的组织影响力，霍纳的评论微妙地强化了当前车队总监缺乏霍纳在20个赛季中拥有的单方面决策权力的怀疑。
加剧紧张的是红牛最近的技术复兴。在车队首款完全自主研发的引擎推动下，维斯塔潘在巴林和新加坡赢得了胜利，霍纳最后的大型项目的成果终于实现——而他在车库里却不在。
尽管霍纳透露明茨拉夫曾联系他承认他的基础性作用，但情感上的刺痛依然存在。
“我现在和奥利弗·明茨拉夫有了一个合理的关系。他前几天打电话给我，感谢我为引擎所做的一切，”霍纳指出。然而，他承认：“我没有机会看到那台Powertrains引擎获胜，我感到特别受伤和被剥夺了机会。”
“随着红牛在2026赛季的收官阶段陷入与法拉利和梅赛德斯激烈的竞争，试图设法保持领先，霍纳的评估在米尔顿凯恩斯留下了持续的疑问：一个企业化的红牛能否在没有建立它的残酷和颠覆性态度的情况下保持冠军统治地位？”
英文原文
Christian Horner questions Red Bull’s “Maverick” identity under Laurent Mekies
Christian Horner questions Red Bull’s post-sacking identity, suggesting the team has abandoned its disruptive heritage
For Red Bull fans. Keeping watch on Red Bull Racing, with F1 news, driver updates, technical insight and race analysis from Milton Keynes.
For two decades, Red Bull Racing defined itself as Formula 1’s anti-establishment disruptor. Founded by the late Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz and run with an iron fist on the pitwall by Christian Horner, the Milton Keynes squad prided itself on doing what traditional manufacturers deemed impossible: culminating in the audacious creation of Red Bull Powertrains in 2021.
However, more than a year after his ruthless sacking in July 2025, Horner has delivered a pointed critique of the team’s current identity. Speaking to The Guardian, the former team principal suggested that the nonconformist DNA that propelled Red Bull to 14 world championships has eroded under corporate CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and his pitwall successor, Laurent Mekies.
During his tenure, Horner frequently clashed with corporate hierarchies and rival bosses, leaning into the narrative of a privateer energy drink company taking on heritage automotive titans. Looking at the organisation today, Horner believes that edge has significantly dulled.
"Red Bull has been the maverick team. It's pushed the boundaries," Horner stated. "Only Red Bull would do something crazy enough to build a new engine as a subsidiary of a fizzy drinks manufacturer. Its mantra was to be nonconformist, to be a disrupted. It's a little different now."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing
The shift reflects the stark contrast between Mateschitz’s hands-off, total-trust backing of Horner and the more centralised, board-driven structure Mintzlaff enacted after Mateschitz's death in late 2022. Without a single figurehead running both sporting and commercial operations with full autonomy, the team’s identity has shifted from an agile insurgent to a sanitised corporate operation.
Deflecting on Mekies and the Verstappen dynamic
Horner’s critique became even sharper when pressed on the internal power dynamics currently governing the garage. Asked directly who actually holds the reins of the team today—Mekies, his former sporting director, whom he hired into the Red Bull ecosystem, or four-time champion Max Verstappen—Horner’s reaction was telling.
"I'm not getting drawn into that," Horner laughed before offering a carefully calibrated non-endorsement. "Ultimately Oliver Mintzlaff is the most senior guy, and obviously Max is a massive asset. I employed Laurent, but I can't judge how he operates."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
By bypassing Mekies’ authority on the pitwall to highlight Mintzlaff’s corporate seniority and Verstappen’s sheer organisational leverage, Horner’s comments subtly reinforce suspicions that the current team principal lacks the unilateral decision-making power Horner wielded for 20 seasons.
Compounding the tension is Red Bull's recent technical resurgence. With Verstappen capturing victories in Bahrain and Singapore in a car powered by the team’s first fully in-house engine, the fruits of Horner’s final major project are finally being realised—without him in the garage.
While Horner revealed that Mintzlaff reached out to acknowledge his foundational role, the emotional sting remains raw.
"I now have a reasonable relationship with Oliver Mintzlaff. He rang the other day and thanked me for all I'd done for the engine," Horner noted. Yet, he conceded: "I felt particularly hurt and robbed I didn't have the opportunity to see that Powertrains engine win."
As Red Bull navigates the closing rounds of the 2026 campaign locked in a fierce fight to somehow stay ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes, Horner’s assessment leaves a lingering question over Milton Keynes: can a corporatised Red Bull sustain championship dominance without the ruthless, disruptive attitude that built it?
Motorsport.com ·
内容来自公开信源，聚合内容版权归原作者与来源所有。