On a typically sodden media day at Spa-Francorchamps, a rip-roaring old-school racetrack nestled exquisitely in the vast hills and trees of the Ardennes Forest, a new era begins in earnest for Red Bull Racing. For the first time in two decades, Christian Horner is not a presence in the “Energy Station” motorhome on a race weekend.
The British executive’s dismissal a fortnight ago, amid a divisive, chaotic and controversial 18 months, sent shockwaves up and down the paddock. F1 has not known Red Bull without Horner. He famously did not miss any of the team’s 405 races and, as such, was present for all 14 world championships, 124 grand prix victories and 287 podiums. Quite the set of accolades, consigned now to a past epoch.
But the era of the team boss juggernaut – casting a dominant shadow over all facets of a racing team – is fading in Formula One. In fact, some years on from the feather-rufflers of Ron Dennis and Frank Williams, it is just Toto Wolff left in that one-dimensional role, as Mercedes CEO, team principal and shareholder.
So for Red Bull, something fresh. It comes in the form of Laurent Mekies, a 48-year-old Frenchman with more than 24 years of experience in F1. He spent nearly a decade working at Red Bull’s sister team, then Toro Rosso, before an oddly placed stint as safety director at the FIA, and a five-year tenure at Ferrari.
Now though, he takes the top job within the Red Bull ecosystem, promoted from his role as team principal at Racing Bulls. An engineer by trade, he shook hundreds of hands at the team’s HQ at Milton Keynes, a day on from Horner’s removal. He’d be wise to get on the right side of a workforce said to be stunned by Horner’s dismissal.
Yet amid tension between Horner and Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, it seems that the Dutchman’s contingent has won the war. For the driver himself, a four-time world champion but effectively out of contention this season, it is all eyes to the future.
“The shareholders decided they wanted a change, that’s within their right,” Verstappen said, amid a crowded media session on Thursday. “It’s not been going that well in the last one and a half years. The management decided to steer the ship in a different direction.
“I like Laurent, he’s a very nice guy. He’s incredibly motivated and you can see that fire in the role. I’ve had lots of meetings with him; it’s been quite intense for him to jump in.
“But the relationship between Christian and myself has not changed. He’s not here on a race weekend, but he’s like a second family.”
Clues as to what the horizon holds for Red Bull – who are desperate to see Verstappen commit to 2026 and with that a new engine partnership with Ford – start this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix. The longest track on the calendar, one of Verstappen’s favourites, hosts the third sprint weekend of the 2025 season. With rain inevitably in the air and practice time limited to one hour, it should be a thrilling few days of action.
Mekies, who will speak to the media on Friday, is the latest figure with a technical background to be cast in a leading role within an F1 team. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has been widely praised for spearheading the papaya’s resurgence to the top. Ex-Mercedes strategist James Vowles is taking Williams into a new age. And even at Haas, one of the sport’s biggest personalities in Guenther Steiner was ditched last year for Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu.
Fascinatingly, Mekies’s biggest endorsement on Thursday did not come from Verstappen or teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Instead, it came from Carlos Sainz, well-versed in his workings from three years together at Ferrari.
“He’s an extremely good professional,” Sainz, now at Williams, said. “I found someone who was incredibly hard working, and he had a special communication with the drivers.
“He makes things very comfortable and open. He has plenty of experience to lead one of the biggest teams in Formula One and I honestly think he’s the perfect fit for the team. He deserves that upgrade.”
An emphasis on technical advantages, then, in contrast to Horner’s willingness to spar in the media room, looks likely to be the main change in philosophy at Red Bull. In the immediate future, the overwhelming train of thought is that Horner’s exit increases the chances of Verstappen committing his future to the team, despite Mercedes lurking in the background. The four-time world champion, typically, was tight-lipped on the topic.
“It won’t make any difference to my future,” Verstappen replied. “Things like this can happen. It is also a possibility that I don’t wake up tomorrow. Life is unpredictable.
“The day after the announcement, I was back at the factory, working on the simulator. Everyone is just focused on their job.”
Horner has joined the likes of star designer Adrian Newey, engineer Rob Marshall and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley out the Red Bull exit door. It’s now down to Mekies, and technical director Pierre Wache, to establish a fresh formula to make Red Bull a top-of-the-table omnipresence once more.
