Red Bull dealt 'right ingredients' warning after Christian Horner exit

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has warned Red Bull that it must get together the "right ingredients" to return to a dominant position, following the departure of Christian Horner.

It was suddenly confirmed on Wednesday that Horner and Red Bull had parted ways after more than 20 years together, creating an opening for a new team principal and CEO. 

Shortly after the announcement of Horner's exit, it was revealed that Laurent Mekies had been promoted to become just the second-ever Red Bull team boss. 

Mekies has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the last two years, since leaving Ferrari as its sporting director. The Frenchman departed the Scuderia to become team principal of Racing Bulls, before now taking on the baton at Red Bull. 

Team bosses with an engineering background has become a growing trend in F1, with the strategy having worked to perfection for McLaren with Andrea Stella. 

Herbert is confident Mekies will steer the Red Bull ship smoothly, with Max Verstappen currently having to maximise the RB21's performance to fight McLaren.

When asked during a RacingNews365 interview if Mekies is the right fit for Red Bull, Herbert answered: "I think so, I like Laurent. I think he's got a good way about him, I think he's got a good understanding. 

"It's like anything, he's had all that experience at Ferrari, all that experience now at Racing Bulls, and all that experience is something that's very beneficial. He's in the meetings, he knows everybody plays the game, and I think he's a smart character that can utilise all the experience that he's had and bring that experience to Red Bull. 

"And that's something that is very, very important to any team, especially when you're at the sharp end of the grid. You've got to have the right ingredients to be able to either bring it back to winning ways, let's say, like McLaren have. But it's also trying to drag yourself back from those winning ways when things haven't been quite as smooth. 

"Yes, Max did that absolutely brilliant lap of Silverstone, like he did in Suzuka etc, and that's where Max is a very important part of one, the success, but the ability of him still being able to get himself into either getting a pole position, or win races in a car that's probably not as good as a McLaren, but when it's in the right window, Max is able to maximise it. 

"So Laurent, I think, will be someone who will be very, very beneficial from now to the end of the season. And his experience, I think will pay dividends down the line."