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By Saajan Jogia
Sports Contributing Writer
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Former Mercedes Formula One driver and Sky Sports F1 presenter Nico Rosberg has revealed that Laurent Mekies' Red Bull appointment to replace Christian Horner has uplifted Yuki Tsunoda's form, in a team that was "for Max Verstappen" and which "only cared about Max Verstappen."
Horner, who served as the team's CEO and team principal for 20 years, was ousted with immediate effect after the British Grand Prix. Mekies was deemed the most suitable successor to Horner, given his impressive track record with Red Bull's junior F1 team, Racing Bulls.
Rosberg was present at Spa-Francorchamps for last weekend's Belgian GP, where he noticed a motivated Tsunoda, given the presence of Mekies, with whom he shares a good rapport.
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Several reports suggested that Verstappen was given more preference over his teammates under Horner's leadership. Tsunoda is currently Verstappen's third teammate in the last 12 months. Sergio Perez faced significant challenges in 2024 with the RB20 F1 car, which eventually led to his ousting after the season finale.
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Perez's replacement, Liam Lawson, also faced similar challenges, resulting in his demotion to Racing Bulls after the first two races of the 2025 season. Tsunoda earned his Red Bull promotion at his home race in Suzuka, replacing Lawson. However, he too faced difficulties with his new team's F1 car. Red Bull reportedly designed its car around Verstappen, which caused his teammates to struggle.
Rosberg pointed out that Tsunoda looked more motivated with Mekies last weekend. Notably, the Japanese driver qualified P7 for Sunday's race at Spa, his best qualifying result with Red Bull thus far. This was after Mekies decided to use the upgraded floor on Tsunoda's RB20, which was kept as a spare for Verstappen.
Revealing that Tsunoda is receiving the attention he needs from a team principal since Mekies took over Red Bull, Rosberg said on Sky F1:
"He has now really empowered Yuki Tsunoda this weekend. He has given him the new upgrade, that he can have the new floor himself as well, not just Verstappen.
"He gives him a thumbs up and a smile after sessions. After qualifying, they connected as Yuki was driving in. He saw Laurent on the pit wall, giving him a big smile and a thumbs-up.
"That makes a huge difference to a driver when suddenly, he sees that he has the support from the team. Whereas before, he said, I heard that he felt like he was on a bit of an island on his own, in a team that was for Max Verstappen and they only cared about Max Verstappen.
"Now, Laurent straight away is also caring about Yuki."
Could this be the start of a new era at Red Bull under Mekies?
Related: Yuki Tsunoda Handed Last-Minute Upgrade by Red Bull's New Team Principal
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