Yesterday at 13:40
Just over a week ago, the bombshell news was announced that
Christian Horner and Red Bull had parted ways after over 20 years
of Horner leading the Milton Keynes-based outfit. The news shocked
many, but the time for shock is over with the second half of the
season just around the corner. Horner's replacement is Laurent
Mekies, who was handed a direct promotion having been Racing Bulls'
team principal for the past 18 months. Now, he finds himself
steering the Red Bull ship as its new team principal and CEO. A new
boss for Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, so, who exactly is
Laurent Mekies? Mekies has taken on one of the biggest jobs in F1
at a team constantly in the spotlight, but as his career shows,
working for giant organisations has never been a problem. The
48-year-old Frenchman has spent his entire working life involved in
motorsport after studying mechanical engineering, before completing
a Master's degree at Loughborough university in automotive
engineering. Mekies career path to Red Bull throne Just like a
racing driver, Mekies' career started in Formula 3, where he joined
Asiatech in 2000. However, like Verstappen, Mekies jumped from F3
to F1, with Peugeot having signed him as an engineer on its engine
programme. This was not for long, as the role saw him move to the
Arrows F1 Team, where he was responsible for engine performance
from 2001 to 2002. Not long after in 2003, Mekies moved to Minardi,
initially as a race engineer, but quickly became its chief
engineer. He stuck with the outfit when it was bought by Red Bull
and renamed Toro Rosso. Mekies played a crucial role in Sebastian
Vettel's famous 2008 Italian Grand Prix victory for the Red Bull
sister team and stuck with the squad until 2012. Then came a big
change in Mekies' career, as from 2014 to 2017, he worked for the
FIA. At first, he was its safety director, but later rose to become
its deputy race director next to the late Charlie Whiting.
However, Mekies was back on the pit wall in 2018, when he joined
Ferrari as its sporting director. Three years later in 2021, a
promotion saw him become its racing director. He stuck with the
Scuderia until mid-2023, before leaving Ferrari and Fred Vasseur to
accept an offer as Racing Bulls' new team principal. Mekies
officially took on the role at the start of 2024 following the
retirement of Franz Tost, who had led Red Bull's sister team from
when it entered F1 in 2006. It was a major change, but one which
saw genuine steps made in the right direction after a spell of
being uncompetitive which saw rumours circulate that the team could
be sold. Now, after 18 months of growing Racing Bulls into a solid
midfield outfit able to consistently make Q3 and score points, he
has been handed the throne at Red Bull. Article continues below
the image... Huge Red Bull challenge Leading Red Bull is
undoubtedly the biggest challenge of Mekies' career, with so much
going against the energy drink company in F1. Red Bull's current
challenges include: a troublesome car in the RB21, being fourth in
the constructors' standings, Verstappen likely being out of the
drivers' title fight and possibly moving to Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda
having scored just seven points in 10 races and Red Bull becoming a
powertrain supplier in 2026. It's fair to say, Mekies is up
against it; however, he is ready for the challenge, saying: "We
don't underestimate the challenges ahead. The focus is on ensuring
that all the talented people here have everything they need to give
their best—because they are already the best. And we need to ensure
that the Red Bull energy flows throughout the entire team." Despite
the magnitude of Mekies' challenge, he does have one thing
massively in his favour, widespread support. Mekies is a liked
individual, one who has grown a positive reputation for his work
ethic and productivity. Already, several figures have outlined to
RacingNews365 that Mekies is an excellent fit. Speaking to
RacingNews365 on if Mekies is a good fit to lead Red Bull, former
F1 driver Johnny Herbert said: "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." Mekies and Horner differences Not only does Mekies
know the Red Bull world, he also comes from an engineering
background. Team principals with an engineering background are
becoming a theme in F1, most notably at McLaren with Andrea
Stella. Horner did not come from an engineering background, but
rather a political one, with former F1 driver and current Red Bull
simulator driver Sebastien Buemi having highlighted the key
difference between new and old Red Bull bosses. "He's [Mekies]
obviously an engineer, so he knows technically for sure a lot,"
Buemi told RacingNews365 . But obviously, Christian's been
politically very strong, and he's been growing the team for a long
time. "I don't know how many people were working for Red Bull when
he joined, and how many there is now, like, over 1500. I don't know
how many actually. He's seen the expansion of the team. Laurent
knows it as well. He's been at Ferrari, it's a big team." Time will
tell how Mekies gets on as Red Bull's new boss but, ultimately, he
has been trusted to save the outfit from the downward spiral its
currently in.
