Red Bull figure admits what the F1 team ‘obviously’ lose by replacing sacked Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies

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Red Bull sprung a surprise with the news that they had sacked their F1 team principal and CEO Christian Horner, and instantly appointed Laurent Mekies as his replacement.

Pressure had been building on Horner for the past 18 months, but the timing of the decision by Red Bull to remove the 51-year-old from his operational duties as their team principal and CEO shocked many. Horner is still under contract to Red Bull as his deal runs through 2030.

Horner had led Red Bull since the team debuted on the grid back in the 2005 F1 season. But the axe fell this week to end the Briton’s tenure, having been engaged in an internal fight for power at Red Bull whilst also overseeing the team’s decline since dominating the 2023 term.

Red Bull won all but one of the 22 Grands Prix in the 2023 season, plus five of the first seven in 2024. Yet, thanks to Max Verstappen, the Milton Keynes crew have only won six of the 29 Grands Prix since – including two of the 12 to date this season – amid McLaren’s resurgence.

Red Bull ‘obviously’ lose Christian Horner’s ‘political’ power after sacking their team principal

Fans at F1 75 booing Horner helped lead to Red Bull sacking the Briton, as well, as it showed the parent Red Bull GmbH company and the Yoovidhya family that they had a vast issue. But Red Bull sacked Horner without telling him why he was being let go after 20 years in charge.

Now, control in Milton Keynes moves to Mekies as he moves up to Red Bull, having been the team principal of Racing Bulls since the start of 2024. Yet while Sebastien Buemi thinks the Frenchman will be ‘technically’ strong, Red Bull will lose the political power that Horner had.

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

Red Bull simulator driver Buemi has told RacingNews365: “He’s obviously an engineer, so he knows technically for sure a lot. But, obviously, Christian’s been politically very strong, and he’s been growing the team for a long time.

“I don’t know how many people were working for Red Bull when he joined, and how many there are now, like, over 1,500. He’s seen the expansion of the team. Laurent knows it, as well. He’s been at Ferrari, it’s a big team.”

Christian Horner was very close to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Horner utilised his closeness with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem during his time as Red Bull’s team principal. But it is said that Horner siding with Ben Sulayem regarding topics like returning to naturally aspirated V10 engines did not always go down well with Red Bull.

READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth

Mekies might not enjoy the same connections as Horner, but he worked for the FIA between 2014 and 2017. The 48-year-old joined the governing body of Formula 1 as a safety director, and later served as the deputy race director, before joining Ferrari as their sporting director.

Ralf Schumacher believes Mekies will offer Red Bull the ‘human element’ they lacked under Horner towards the end of the Briton’s tenure, too. He is also already familiar with the Red Bull organisation, having worked for Toro Rosso from 2006-14 and Racing Bulls since 2024.

Mekies has agreed to decentralise power at Red Bull, unlike Horner, after stepping up to the helm in Milton Keynes, as well. Horner wanted total control of Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Powertrains, yet Mekies is open to having less control and having a wider leadership team.