Red Bull have announced their new F1 team principal for the remainder of the season after Christian Horner was sacked with immediate effect.
Laurent Mekies, team principal at Racing Bulls, has been promoted from the junior team and will now take over from Horner after he was fired on Wednesday morning.
An official statement from the team said: “With immediate effect, Laurent Mekies will take over the duties of CEO at Red Bull Racing. As part of his change, Alan Permane, currently Racing Director, will be promoted to Team Principal at Racing Bulls.”
Menawhile, Mekies himself said: “The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter [Bayer].
“It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people. The spirit of the whole team is incredible, and I strongly believe that this is just the beginning.
“Alan [Permane] is the perfect man to take over now and continue our path. He knows the team inside out and has always been an important pillar of our early successes.”
Laurent Mekies has replaced Christian Horner at Red Bull
Who is Laurent Mekies?
In 2002, Mekies joined Minardi as a race engineer, beginning a 12-year tenure in Faenza. When the team transitioned to Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006, he became Chief Engineer, overseeing all trackside operations – from car assembly at the factory to race-day execution.
He later took on the role of Head of Vehicle Performance, leading six departments focused on optimising car performance.
In 2014, Laurent moved to the FIA, taking on the position of Safety Director, where he managed safety and medical operations across all championships.
His responsibilities also included R&D and homologation for both circuit and road applications. In early 2017, he was named F1 Deputy Race Director, working alongside Charlie Whiting, while also overseeing sporting matters across the FIA’s single-seater categories.
September 2018 marked Laurent’s move to Scuderia Ferrari as Sporting Director. He expanded his remit in 2019 to include Head of Track & Performance Area, and in 2021 was promoted to Racing Director.
After leaving Ferrari in the summer of 2023, he became VCARB team principal, now replacing Horner at Red Bull.
