The big news in F1 this week was the firing of Christian Horner, Red Bull CEO since its inception in 2005. He, with the help of Max Verstappen, turned the Austrian energy drink brand into a powerhouse in the sport, winning six constructors' championships and eight drivers' titles, but things are starting to go south 18 months ago, when Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female employee. And while he was cleared, Horner's status within the team continued worsening.
He has been replaced by Laurent Mekies, a French engineer which used to work as Team Principal of Racing Bulls, Red Bull's sister team, and with a history at Ferrari. Mekies, 48, with a Master's degree in car engineering, has always worked in motorsport, starting in Formula Three, then working with Arrows, Minardi (renamed Toro Rosso when they were bought by Red Bull in 2005), and later moved to FIA in 2014 as safety director and F1 deputy race director in 2017. He then spent five years in Ferrari as sporting director.
Given his history with Red Bill, he was hired as Team Principal for RB Formula One Team at the start of the 2024 season, the team that has had four names in its existence (Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri...), and is now Racing Bulls.
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Mekies will now reunite with Yuki Tsunoda at the main team, after the swap between the Japanese driver and Liam Lawson. His big challenge will be to prepare Red Bull for "probably the biggest change of regulation in [Formula 1] history" next year, but feels that Red Bull "is the sharpest team, having managed to accumulate the biggest amount of talent together".