Laurent Mekies may have had ‘a slip of the tongue’ about Christian Horner in first Red Bull press conference

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Laurent Mekies is enjoying his first weekend as team principal of Red Bull and has already identified the changes that need to happen for the team to get back to its previous heights.

Laurent Mekies was announced as the man to replace Christian Horner at Red Bull following his immediate dismissal from the team after 20 years leading the charge.

His appointment marks another former engineer stepping into the main leadership position of an F1 team, with Martin Brundle believing Red Bull is copying McLaren’s successful blueprint, which involved promoting Andrea Stella to team principal in 2022.

Mekies is reportedly already making his mark on the team. He arrived in the F1 paddock at Spa-Francorchamps early on Friday morning and is holding the kind of meetings with different departments that Horner shunned.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies

Laurent Mekies described the ‘noise’ surrounding Christian Horner as a distraction for the team

Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, journalist Andrew Benson recalled a moment in Mekies’ first press conference for Red Bull in which the Frenchman may have had a ‘slip of the tongue’.

Asked by Harry Benjamin if he noted anything interesting from the session, Benson replied, “Well, there was one line that was quite interesting.

“At one point, he was talking about the people in the factory, and said, ‘You see a lot of desire from everyone to get that Red Bull energy to reduce the noise outside just to concentrate on racing.'”

“I don’t know whether he was deliberately referring to the last 18 months, because it certainly sounded like it, or whether that was a slight slip of the tongue.

“It suggests it was actually having a negative impact on the team. And who knows, as well as the departures of Newey and Wheatley, maybe that disruption was also somewhere in the mix of why Red Bull suffered this loss of performance in the last 12 months or so.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Laurent Mekies’ tenure at Red Bull got off to the best possible start

The ‘noise’ had certainly seemed to disappear during the Sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. Max Verstappen took the lead from Oscar Piastri on the opening lap of the race and held it to the chequered flag, clinching his first Sprint victory of the season.

F1 fans were divided over Mekies’ instant impact on Red Bull, with many believing he has an easy job on his hands with a driver of Verstappen’s calibre at the wheel.

Verstappen is reported to be very happy with the Frenchman’s appointment so far. Mekies’ background as an engineer has meant that he ‘excels’ in understanding the wants and needs of drivers.

During the current Sprint weekend, there’s still a lot of work for the team to do to continue their good form on the Belgian tarmac in qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix. Verstappen has won three of the last four Belgian Grand Prix and after a Sprint win already under his belt, he will be confident of making it four out of five.