Who is Laurent Mekies? Everything you need to know about Red Bull’s newly appointed team principal

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Laurent Mekies takes over from Christian Horner as the team principal of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team, only their second in the history of the team.

Mekies has been the team principal of Racing Bulls since the 2024 season, but prior to that, he held roles at the FIA and Ferrari.

An engineer who specialises in aerodynamics, Mekies started out his journey in motorsport in the late 1990s when he worked in Formula 3.

He would later graduate to F1 and work with a number of teams including Arrows, Minardi, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and latterly Racing Bulls. So here is everything you need to know about Red Bull’s latest team principal.

Laurent Mekies started off at Arrows and then moved to Minardi in F1

Mekies graduated from Loughborough University after getting a master’s degree from ESTACA in Paris, before moving to work for the Formula 3 team Asiatech in 2000.

After that stint, Mekies made his debut in F1 with the Arrows team. He would later switch to Minardi where he worked as a racing engineer to the likes of Mark Webber, Justin Wilson, Zsolt Baumgartner, and Christijan Albers.

He was promoted to chief engineer in 2005 when Minardi was bought out by Red Bull and turned into Toro Rosso, where he oversaw their first victory with Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

He also worked alongside fellow Red Bull junior drivers Sebastian Buemi and Sebastian Bourdais while at the sister team outfit.

Laurent Mekies once worked for the FIA as Safety Director

Mekies would leave Toro Rosso in 2014 to take up a role within the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, as Safety Director.

From there he would oversee the introduction of the Halo frontal cockpit protection device, which was introduced in F1 in 2018 and subsequently adopted by lower formulas.

The Halo has been one of the most significant safety devices in recent times for single-seater racing, having protected drivers from large pieces of debris such as errant wheels and cars that have got airborne and landed near the cockpit of another competitor.

Mekies was also deputy race director to Charlie Whiting, where he played a key role in shaping the regulations.

Laurent Mekies joined Ferrari in 2018 before moving back to Racing Bulls in 2024

Mekies would go on to join Ferrari in September 2018 as sporting director, before being promoted to their track and performance department in 2019.

His move to Ferrari sparked some controversy in the F1 paddock because of the lack of gardening leave between his exit from the FIA and Maranello.

He would take on the responsibility as deputy team principal and racing director of Ferrari in January 2021, showcasing his impressive managerial skills and briefly overseeing Ferrari’s return to winning ways throughout 2022.

It was announced that Mekies would leave his position in July 2023 so he could rejoin Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls, as their team principal and succeed the long-serving Franz Tost.

Mekies now replaces Christian Horner, the previous longest-serving team principal at Red Bull, where he will oversee their return to winning ways after a difficult start to the 2025 season.

What is Laurent Mekies’s age? When was he born?

At the time of writing, Mekies is 48 years old. He was born on 28th April 1977.

Where was Laurent Mekies born? What is his nationality?

Mekies was born in Tours, Centre-Val de Loire, in France. He is of French nationality but also speaks English, Italian and German.

Laurent Mekies’ net worth

While there is no concrete source on what Laurent Mekies’ net worth currently sits at, it is reported to be at least £1 million (via PlanetF1.com) due to his high-ranking position at Red Bull.