Who is Laurent Mekies? All about Christian Horner's replacement at Red Bull

Former VCARB Team Principal Laurent Mekies has taken over the leadership at Red Bull Racing, as Christian Horner was sacked by the Milton Keynes-based outfit. Horner fulfilled the role of CEO and Team Principal at Red Bull Racing, and Mekies will now be taking over that role.

Christian Horner has been Red Bull Racing’s Team Principal since the inception of the team in the mid-2000s and leaves the team after two successful decades as he won eight driver titles during his tenure as the Team Principal, 4 with Sebastian Vettel and 4 with Max Verstappen.

F1 British Grand Prix 2025 Team Principals Press Conference - Source: Getty

Let's have a detailed look at who Laurent Mekies is, the man replacing Horner at Red Bull Racing.

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Laurent Mekies' education and motorsports career

Laurent Mekies was born in Tours, Centre-Val de Loire, and is an engineer by profession. Mekies completed a mechanical degree from École Supérieure des Techniques Aéronautiques et de Construction Automobile (which translates to Higher School of Aeronautical Techniques and Automotive Construction) in Paris-Saclay, Laval, and Bordeaux. It was a 5-year course from 1994-1999.

Laurent Mekies then moved to the UK and completed an Automotive engineering degree from Loughborough University. The French engineer’s first job was with ASIATECH F1 as an engine race engineer from January 2001 to November 2002.

After working with ASIATECH for a couple of years, Mekies moved to the Minardi F1 team as a race engineer, where he worked for nearly three years. Minardi was then taken over by Red Bull and renamed as Toro Rosso, which then became Red Bull Racing's sister team.

Laurent Mekies continued at Toro Rosso (now VCARB) as the Chief Engineer from 2005-2012 before becoming the Head of Vehicle Performance. The 48-year-old then left Toro Rosso at the end of the 2014 F1 season and joined F1’s governing body, the FIA.

Mekies joined as a safety director in the FIA and was promoted to F1 Deputy Race Director in January 2017. The Frenchman then moved to Scuderia Ferrari in October 2018 as the Sporting Director, and three years later took up the role of Racing Director.

F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan - Practice & Qualifying - Source: Getty

After 5 years at Ferrari, Laurent Mekies returned to Toro Rosso, this time called the VCARB F1 Team. As Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull, Mekies was promoted as the Team Principal and CEO of the senior team. Alan Permane will be taking over Mekies' role at VCARB.

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What did Laurent Mekies say after joining Red Bull Racing and replacing Christian Horner?

Laurent Mekies has some big shoes to fill at Red Bull Racing as Christian Horner, along with Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey, have been the three strong pillars of the Milton Keynes-based team since its inception. With Adrian Newey moving to Aston Martin and now Horner leaving, Mekies has a huge job on his hands.

As Mekies was promoted, he didn't speak about his role at Red Bull but rather leaving Racing Bulls and handing the lead of his previous team to Alan Permane. He said,

“The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter [Bayer, Racing Bulls CEO]. 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 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,” added Mekies.

Red Bull were the most dominant team during the 2023 season but have fallen behind in the last couple of seasons, and are currently 4th in the constructors' championship, 288 points behind McLaren.