Red Bull already rejected ‘by far’ the best candidate to replace Christian Horner long before hiring Laurent Mekies

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Laurent Mekies will take over at Red Bull following the sacking of Christian Horner. It’s another in-house promotion, with Mekies stepping up from Racing Bulls.

The Frenchman was in the midst of his second stint with the Faenza team, having previously been a senior engineer. Before his 2024 return, he had a stint as F1’s deputy race director and the second-in-command at Ferrari.

Under Mekies, Racing Bulls finished eighth in the constructors’ standings last year. They are currently tied with Aston Martin for the same position.

While the 48-year-old has done a solid job, he faces an enormous task at Red Bull. There is uncertainty over the future of Max Verstappen, an ongoing second-driver crisis and doubt over the team’s prospects for the upcoming regulation changes.

Jonathan Wheatley put himself forward as a potential Christian Horner replacement in 2024

According to BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson, Red Bull felt as if there was no ‘obvious’ alternative at Milton Keynes. Ex-sporting director Jonathan Wheatley had appeared the most likely successor.

Benson reveals that, in February 2024, Wheatley put himself forward as a possible replacement for Horner. But Red Bull’s owners stuck by their incumbent team principal, and they lost Wheatley to Sauber/Audi a few months later.

“Had this happened a year ago, Jonathan Wheatley would have been the obvious choice to step into that role,” Benson said on the Chequered Flag podcast. “In February last year, I believe that Wheatley internally put himself forward as an internal replacement.

“He’s not there anymore, so they can’t choose him. There’s no-one obvious within Red Bull.”

A report from Motorsport Netherlands adds that Wheatley was ‘long considered a capable successor’ by people within the team. He was ‘eager’ to take on the role but the opportunity didn’t arise, prompting Sauber to capitalise.

• READ MORE: Why Christian Horner being sacked by Red Bull could save Yuki Tsunoda’s Formula 1 career

Journalist Ronald Vording describes Wheatley as ‘by far’ the most logical candidate. And his impressive start at his new team may already have sparked regret.

Jonathan Wheatley may have sensed Christian Horner exit was coming

Since Wheatley started his role on 1 April, Sauber have scored 35 points. They only managed four in the entirety of last season.

Clearly, this year’s car is better, and that’s a happy coincidence for the new man. But equally, the team have been excellent at the operational level, both in terms of pit stops and race strategy, and that has allowed them to maximise the opportunities available.

They produced a masterclass at the British Grand Prix last weekend, helping Nico Hulkenberg bag his first-ever F1 podium. The team hadn’t been up there since 2012.

In a conversation with Chris Medland, Wheatley said the chaos at Red Bull contributed to his departure. He may have sensed that ‘times were changing’ at the previously dominant team.