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.

Horner was axed by Red Bull in a bombshell announcement two weeks ago as Red Bull GmbH higher-ups called time on his 20-year tenure with the Formula 1 team. Reportedly summoned to a meeting in London in the days after the British Grand Prix, Horner was informed that he had been released from his operational duties with immediate effect.