Christian Horner would be proud of what Laurent Mekies has just done to annoy Toto Wolff

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Red Bull took a risk when they appointed Laurent Mekies as their team principal. He had done a reasonable job at Racing Bulls, but the pressure of this position was on another level.

Mekies had previously worked for Ferrari, so it wasn’t as if the scrutiny on a top team was alien to him. There’s a big difference between being second or third in the chain of command and running the ship, though; if Red Bull failed, the blame would fall on him.

The Frenchman, who comes from an engineering background, was behind a fresh development push that reignited Max Verstappen’s title charge. But as much as it would be Mekies’ preference, a Red Bull team boss can’t focus solely on on-track matters.

Prove me wrong: Red Bull replacing Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies was the best decision they made in 2025

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Christian Horner led Red Bull to 14 world titles and well over 100 victories while also being one of F1’s great political operators. The question was whether Mekies could fill that void, too.

Laurent Mekies plays the perfect political game to stop Mercedes

Mekies’ handling of F1’s fuel compression ratio dispute shows that he’s more than equipped for the ‘piranha club’.

It was initially thought that Red Bull were using the loophole in the regulations – one that allows a team like Mercedes to exceed the maximum ratio when the engine is hot – but they strongly denied this.

Speaking at the Red Bull team launch in January, engine boss Ben Hodgkinson had hinted that they were exploiting the grey area.

Are Mercedes’ rivals hiding behind 2026 ‘excuses’?

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“I know what we’re doing, and I’m confident that what we’re doing is legal,” he said, via ESPN. “Of course, we’ve taken it right to the very limit of what the regulations allow. I’d be surprised if everyone hasn’t done that.”

However, the narrative has now shifted. It has emerged that Red Bull tried to copy Mercedes’ technology but weren’t able to achieve the same horsepower gains, despite hiring vast numbers of staff from Brixworth.

As reported by Motorsport, Red Bull may have found lap time through their research, but not as much as Mercedes. On that basis, they could ‘push for action’ against the Silver Arrows, joining a voting bloc with Ferrari, Audi and Honda.

Mekies is smart enough to see the bigger picture. It’s better for Red Bull to forfeit their own gains if it means Mercedes won’t have a game-changing advantage themselves.

Toto Wolff will be furious over Red Bull defection

What happens now? Red Bull could sign a letter of protest penned by Mercedes’ rivals, effectively suggesting the W17 is illegal in its current form.

The F1 Commission could soon vote on a proposal to measure fuel compression ratios in real time, or at least when the engine is still hot, potentially forcing Mercedes to surrender their weapon.

Toto Wolff, Horner’s long-time nemesis, would be furious over such an outcome, particularly if the rules are changed before 2027. He has already blasted competitors for trying to find ‘excuses’ and is adamant that his car is compliant with the regulations.

It seems Red Bull may have leaked the story to the rest of the grid in the first place, which generated the storm. Mekies has handled the situation as any great team boss would – if you can’t join them, beat them.