The Formula 1 world was truly shocked by the sudden resignation of the Red Bull Racing team manager Christian Horner days before the Belgian Grand Prix. Hardly anybody could see it coming. When the news broke on July 9 you could almost sense the shock having ripped through team garages and to the grandstands. The stand-in has been announced shortly later, Laurent Mekies, most recently of Racing Bulls, but the motives behind the major step remain behind the curtained walls of Red Bull. Most of it was largely being blamed in the paddock on the struggles that the team had been going through in the previous season or two.

With the team, reactions were not only raw, but very real. Max Verstappen, Red Bulls cool head so many times, took the news in a very composed manner. He thought about Horner as nearly a father figure in the team- his second family. Max himself was a combination of reverence to the success Horner had brought, and the ice blues of what is going on next. That is the business of management, he would have implied; to him racing is an affair of arriving in time, regardless of whether the shipboard management is competent or not.

The Japanese driver of Red Bull was more straightforward–this was a massive shakeup as they all were still feeling their feet. However, there was also some optimistic tone in it, as he mentioned that Mekies is a newcomer who has his own experience and experience. F1 is not a smooth way to change, and that is exactly why sometimes the change is the needed shot to stir the waters in a positive way.

At the garage, people were relieved that technical continuity was not going to suffer. In the most competitive segment of racing, any minor adjustments can make a world of difference and it was comforting to many drivers to see it was Mekies, a racer not a hired gun, picking up the reins.

According to Liam Lawson, who took the seat to fill temporarily, one should expect surprises to be the order of business in F1. You become accustomed to not being able to know what to expect, and having your own objectives in mind, regardless of the individual in charge of the team.

In other areas of the paddock, there was also a quiet way to pay tribute to Horner as rivals and veterans had their tribute to him. People remembered not only his ability to spot talent and produce results, but unusually loyal, tight-knit manner of operating, which was uncharacteristic of a sport marked by revolving doors.

The considerate Lewis Hamilton could not resist the temptation and reminisced on early life with Horner. He praised him in creating something special at Red Bull, creating a culture and a spirit that withstood the passing of time. And even those who did not usually mingle with Horner were able to talk with respect of what he was able to achieve within the period of two decades.

Not all people had something to say. Others, maybe fearful of trying to stick their nose in another squad business, opted to stay off the subject saying no two leadership tales in F1 are anything alike.

Eventually, the atmosphere around the paddock was evidential. Horner stepping down would end up one of the most marked Red Bull eras. It is emotional, not just to those in the team, but also to fans all over. However, and as usual in Formula 1, life does not stand still. It does not take too complicated to understand what is on the agenda now, can Red Bull make this turning point the beginning of another winning chapter? Unexpected things happen, and that is one lesson that may be learned today, in this sport nothing stays put.

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