Wheatley praises Horner for what he “achieved over the last twenty years”

Having joined Kick Sauber as its new team principal ahead of this year's Japanese Grand Prix, Jonathan Wheatley has praised his old boss, Christian Horner for his achievements at Red Bull over the past twenty years.

Just two days after the British Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that long-standing team boss Christian Horner would leave the team with immediate effect.

The Briton has been at the helm for almost the entire team's history in F1 but his exit follows a couple of troublesome years of internal struggles since Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz passed away.

Horner has been in charge of Red Bull since the team entered the sport in 2025, serving as team principal for two decades. During that time, the 51-year-old Briton has led Red Bull to six constructors' and eight drivers' world championship titles.

Red Bull elected to promote Laurent Mekies to lead the Milton Keynes-based outfit. The Frenchman began his career at Arrows before working as a race engineer at Minardi. He was promoted to chief engineer at Toro Rosso prior to becoming the safety director and, later, deputy race director at the FIA.

Prior to his time with Red Bull GmbH, he served as sporting director and deputy team principal at Ferrari from 2018 to 2023.

Asked to offer his thoughts on Christian Horner's departure, Kick Sauber's team boss Jonathan Wheatley claimed that the Briton's achievements speak for themselves.

"I’d like to start by saying look at what Christian achieved in that team. Look what the team that he was part of achieved over the last twenty years. I had a fantastic time in Milton Keynes.

"I have a slightly more scenic drive to work now, but I know the strength and depth of the people there, and I know the task that Laurent’s taken on is going to be exciting for him.

"I want to say on a personal level that I wish Christian absolutely the very best in the future, but also that two really good friends of mine, this gentleman sat to my right here Laurent and also Alan Permane, it’s provided opportunities in their careers and their career development. Honestly, out of everything comes something hugely positive, and I’m really, really pleased for Laurent and Alan."