While the reason for Horner's ousting has not been revealed, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has pointed out that performance concerns led to his exit, and that the decision was taken by the managing director of Red Bull GmbH, Oliver Mintzlaff. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:

Christian Horner was sacked as team principal of Red Bull Racing in July, ending his 20-year spell in charge. No clear explanation has been provided by Red Bull so far, and the announcement of Laurent Mekies as his replacement followed just minutes after the news broke.

Heading into the Belgian GP, Red Bull is 288 points behind Constructors' Championship leader McLaren, and Verstappen's dreams of scoring a fifth successive Drivers' Championship crown are hanging by a thread. With a critical regulation change incoming for the 2026 season, Red Bull's status as an F1 powerhouse is under significant threat.