Laurent Mekies Officially Takes Over Red Bull Racing Leadership from Christian Horner

According to Sky Sports, Laurent Mekies has officially replaced Christian Horner as CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing — after previously serving as Racing Bulls team chief.

Mekies’ F1 career began at Arrows, continued to Minardi as race engineer, then to FIA as safety director and deputy race director. Before joining Red Bull, he served as Ferrari’s sporting director and deputy team principal.

Martin Brundle, former F1 driver and Sky Sports analyst, highlights Mekies’ strong technical background — similar to the success of Andrea Stella at McLaren and James Vowles at Williams. “We’re increasingly seeing people with technical backgrounds leading teams,” Brundle wrote in his column.

“We look at Red Bull as being the sharpest team, having managed to accumulate the biggest amount of talent together, and you guys are just the best at what you do. It’s a privilege to join the team,” stated Mekies.

Mekies also emphasized the major challenges ahead — the 2026 F1 regulation changes and development of Red Bull’s own power unit will be the team’s main focus moving forward.