Rosberg: Red Bull is now Team Verstappen

The dramatic leadership change at Red Bull has overshadowed much of the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix, where Horner was absent from the pit wall for the first time in 20 years. Laurent Mekies, formerly of AlphaTauri, is now in charge.

With rain delaying the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, Rosberg and Brundle were chatting about the Horner saga to kill time on the Sky Sports F1 live TV feed ahead of the race

Rosberg believes Horner’s removal was the result of a long-brewing internal power struggle: “He was losing internal support. More and more key people were leaving, and I think that’s why it was important to make that decision as quickly as possible for Red Bull.”

Rosberg added that Mekies now faces a vital challenge to consolidate leadership and prevent further departures: “Laurent has to establish himself quickly and make sure that all the key people now stay and don’t continue going to the other teams – that’s the first job that he’s going to have to focus on.

"And then rebuilding and bringing extra key people in, or bringing up the young generation from the second row and promoting them from within. That’s going to be the key to them preserving their standing as one of the fastest teams in F1.”

Rosberg argued the post-Horner Red Bull is no longer the team Horner built, but instead a machine firmly tailored around Max Verstappen’s ambitions. “Red Bull is now Team Verstappen,” he said, suggesting that Verstappen will not be heading to Mercedes in 2026 as some had speculated, especially with Ford joining the team that year.

Brundle echoed Rosberg’s view that the power balance within Red Bull has shifted decisively. “Since Bahrain last year I've almost considered Jos [Verstappen] as the team principal of Red Bull,” Brundle remarked. “It has become a one-driver team and that's something they have got to fix as well.”

He added that Verstappen’s camp would have been fully in the loop: “The Verstappens would have bought into this [Horner’s departure], they wouldn't have been blindsided, so there's no way that Max will now be leaving the team because of that. They [Red Bull Austria] will have ensured that before they made that move with Christian.”

While doing a grid walk at a drenched Spa Brundle and Rosberg spoke to Jos Verstappen, Max's father, who said: “They decided to change. I’m fine with everything."

Rosberg, transmitting live, reminded all that it was Jos who called for Horner's exit, he replied: “That was one and a half year ago. It’s different. I have nothing to say. It’s fine."

As the Horner era comes to a sudden and dramatic close, all eyes will be on how Mekies steers Red Bull through this turbulent transition, or indeed the operation becomes 'Team Verstappen' Ford.