Who is Laurent Mekies, the new Red Bull team principal?

In early July, it was officially confirmed that Mekies is the new CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing. He succeeds Horner, who was let go after more than two decades. At that time, Mekies was already part of the Red Bull organisation as the Racing Bulls team principal, the sister team from Faenza. His promotion came at a time when Red Bull was undergoing a turbulent phase, both on the sporting and organisational fronts. The Frenchman has a broad technical background and has previously led several departments at Ferrari.

Mekies began his motorsport career in 2000 with the Formula 3 team Asiatech. A year later, he moved to Formula 1, where he joined Arrows. In 2002, he switched to Minardi, which later became Toro Rosso. Mekies remained in Faenza for twelve years, where he advanced to chief engineer and later Head of Vehicle Performance. There, he worked with Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastien Buemi, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Christijan Albers, among others.

In 2014, he left Toro Rosso for a position within the FIA. As safety director, he was responsible for all the safety aspects in the FIA's championships. In 2017, he was appointed deputy race director, alongside Charlie Whiting.

In September 2018, Mekies made another switch to a team, this time to Ferrari. There, he started as sporting director, and under the leadership of Mattia Binotto, his influence within the Italian team grew. In 2021, he was appointed deputy team principal and race director. He increasingly came to the forefront, including at press moments and briefings with the FIA.

After Binotto's departure and the arrival of Fred Vasseur, Mekies stayed on for a while, but by mid-2023, it became clear that he would be taking a different path. He was given the opportunity to become team principal at Racing Bulls and made his debut in that role in early 2024. Just one and a half seasons later, he makes the switch to Red Bull Racing as the replacement for the ousted Horner.