Berger backs Mekies but questions his ruthless edge

Jul.14 (GMM)  Christian Horner’s downfall at Red Bull may have been partly self-inflicted, according to close friend and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Bild newspaper believes the final straw for the 51-year-old was his refusal to relinquish control of overall marketing duties at Red Bull's sister team, Racing Bulls.

"The bottom line is there are people who thought he was getting away with things, that he was acting as if it was not the Red Bull ring, but the Christian Horner ring," Ecclestone told The Telegraph.

"He got away with so many things. All the time you are delivering, people close their eyes — but when you stop delivering, people start looking."

Horner’s personal scandal last year, involving inappropriate messages to a now-disgruntled former employee, added to the pressure.

"He was just an idiot," Ecclestone said. "He was a 50-year-old who thought he was 20 — thought he was one of the boys."

The mid-season shakeup at Red Bull still took much of the Formula 1 paddock by surprise. "Maybe they had a big fight," said former Ferrari and Bridgestone engineer Kees van der Grint, speaking to Viaplay.

"I think it's a very strange story but I don't know enough about it."

Van der Grint also acknowledged that Red Bull’s declining performance and internal staff turnover contributed to the situation. "You can hold Horner responsible for that, as the leader of the entire company," he said, "but ultimately, he's not building that car."

In Horner’s place, the team has promoted Racing Bulls principal Laurent Mekies to the senior Red Bull role — a decision that is drawing mixed reactions.

"I've dealt with Laurent before," F1 legend Gerhard Berger, who was Red Bull’s first sponsored athlete, told Krone newspaper.

"He was with me at Ferrari, I worked with him at Toro Rosso, and also at the FIA," Berger continued. "He has a good style and knows Formula 1 very well, having held various positions.

"Whether he also has the killer instinct you need at such a big team when you're at the very front remains to be seen. But I think Mekies is a good solution for Red Bull Racing."]]>