Red Bull new team principal Laurent Mekies says he hasnt been told why its parent company chose to fire Christian Horner.
Amid rampant speculation across Formula 1, Red Bulls parent company hasnt explained its reasons for removing Horner from his role after 20 years. Mekies said his appointment to replace Horner was a surprise for everyone and he wasnt told the reasons.
We didnt get into the why and the why now, but they outlined the sort of objectives they had for the team moving forward, said Mekies, who is in charge of the team for the first time at the Belgian Grand Prix after moving up from sister team Racing Bulls.
Mekies said hes been in contact with Horner, who he said was nothing else than supportive, even in the extremely difficult context.
Practice times
Mekies didnt get long to settle in on his first Formula 1 race weekend as Red Bull team principal, with just one practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday before qualifying for Saturdays sprint race.
The hectic schedule is an extra challenge as Mekies takes over from Horner, who had led the team since it entered F1 in 2005 until just over two weeks ago.
Max Verstappen had some aerodynamic updates and was competitive for Red Bull in the sole practice session, going second fastest at .404 of a second behind standings leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren. The second McLaren of Lando Norris was third fastest, .1 further back.
Red Bull uncertainty
One thing has stayed the same Verstappens future remains uncertain. The Dutch driver said Thursday that Horner was like a second family but that his removal wouldnt affect his plans.
Verstappen said he still hoped to remain with Red Bull for the rest of his career but noted that life is unpredictable. In an extra twist, Mercedes driver George Russell indicated to broadcaster Sky Sports on Thursday that he believed Verstappen and Mercedes remained in talks.
Im sure Max wants a fast car and if we get him a fast car, Im sure its canceling out all the other considerations, Mekies said Friday, adding that if that happens it could be an easy call for Max.
Besides the small question of Verstappens future, Mekies will need to draw on his extensive experience in F1 to cope with a daunting to-do list .
He needs to deal with a decline in the teams results over the last year, prepare for big rule changes for 2026, and work out why Yuki Tsunoda 18th in Friday practice is the latest in a series of Verstappens teammates to struggle with the car.
Piastris frustration
All the focus has been on Red Bull, but theres still a thrilling and controversial title race at McLaren.
Norris emotional win in the rain at the British Grand Prix cut Piastris standings lead to just eight points, while Piastri fumed at what he saw as an unfair penalty.
Belgium is the first test of the Australians vow to harness the frustration he felt in Britain to win more races. And just like at Silverstone, rain could play a big part this weekend. It could affect both Saturdays sprint and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Crunch time for Hamilton
With half of the season gone and no Grand Prix podium finish yet, Lewis Hamilton has declared its crunch time for him at Ferrari.
Hamilton, whose biggest success this season was a sprint race win in China in March, was seventh in Friday practice.
The seven-time champion revealed Thursday hes been setting up a series of meetings not just with top team personnel, but with Ferraris corporate leadership, to seek structural adjustments and make sure his voice is part of Ferraris development plans for 2026.
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AP auto racing:
红牛车队新任领队洛朗·梅基斯表示，他尚未被告知母公司解雇克里斯蒂安·霍纳的原因。
在F1赛事界猜测四起之际，红牛母公司仍未就其解除霍纳（Horner）任职20年的职务做出解释。接替霍纳的梅基斯（Mekies）表示，对他的任命"令所有人感到意外"，且他本人也未获知具体原因。
梅基斯（Mekies）表示："我们并未深究‘原因’和‘为何是现在’，但他们明确了团队未来的发展目标。"这位刚从兄弟车队Racing Bulls晋升的领队，正首次在比利时大奖赛上执掌车队。
梅基斯表示，他一直与霍纳保持联系，并称霍纳“即便在极其艰难的情况下也始终给予支持”。
训练时间
作为红牛车队新任领队，梅基斯在首个F1比赛周末的适应时间相当有限。比利时大奖赛周五仅有一次练习赛，随后便是周六冲刺赛的排位赛。
当梅基斯接替霍纳执掌车队时，紧张的日程安排成为了一项额外挑战。霍纳自2005年该车队加入F1以来一直担任领队，直到两周多前才卸任。
马克斯·维斯塔潘的赛车进行了空气动力学升级，在唯一一次练习赛中为红牛车队展现了竞争力，以0.404秒之差落后于迈凯伦车队的榜首车手奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里，位列第二。另一位迈凯伦车手兰多·诺里斯则以0.1秒的差距排名第三。
红牛车队前途未卜
有一点始终未变——维斯塔潘（Verstappen）的未来仍充满不确定性。这位荷兰车手周四表示，霍纳（Horner）对他而言如同“第二家人”，但即便霍纳离职也不会影响他的职业规划。
维斯塔潘表示，他仍希望整个职业生涯都效力于红牛车队，但也指出"人生充满变数"。更具戏剧性的是，梅赛德斯车手乔治·拉塞尔周四向天空体育透露，他认为维斯塔潘与梅赛德斯仍在进行谈判。
梅基斯周五表示：\"我确信马克斯想要一辆快车，如果我们能给他一辆快车，我相信这会抵消所有其他考虑因素。\"他补充说，如果这种情况发生，对马克斯来说可能\"很容易做出决定\"。
除了维斯塔潘（Verstappen）未来的小问题外，梅基斯（Mekies）还需要凭借他在F1赛事中积累的丰富经验，来应对一系列令人望而生畏的待办事项。
他需要应对车队去年成绩下滑的问题，为2026年的重大规则变更做准备，并找出角田裕毅（周五练习赛排名第18位）成为维斯塔潘又一位难以适应赛车的队友的原因。
皮亚斯特里的挫败感
尽管所有焦点都集中在红牛车队身上，但迈凯伦仍在上演一场激动人心且充满争议的冠军争夺战。
诺里斯在英国大奖赛雨中激动人心的胜利，将皮亚斯特里的积分榜领先优势缩小至仅剩8分，而皮亚斯特里则因他认为不公正的处罚而愤怒不已。
比利时站是这位澳大利亚车手兑现誓言的首场考验——他立志将英国站积累的“挫败感”转化为动力，赢得更多比赛。正如银石站一样，本周末的雨水可能再度成为关键因素，或将影响周六的冲刺赛及周日的正赛。
汉密尔顿的关键时刻
赛季过半却仍未登上大奖赛领奖台，刘易斯·汉密尔顿坦言他在法拉利车队已进入“决胜时刻”。
汉密尔顿本赛季的最大成就是在三月份的中国站冲刺赛中夺冠，而他在周五的练习赛中仅位列第七。
这位七届冠军得主周四透露，他近期不仅与车队高层人员安排了一系列会议，还与法拉利公司领导层进行了沟通，以寻求“结构性调整”，并确保他的意见能纳入法拉利2026年的发展规划中。
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