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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has heaped praise on Laurent Mekies for one way he has changed Red Bull since replacing Christian Horner as their CEO and team principal.
Red Bull sacked Horner after 20 years in charge of the F1 team last July, in the wake of their declining results and his internal fight for more power. Mekies moved over from sister team Racing Bulls, and he led a revival that brought Max Verstappen back into the 2025 title fight.
McLaren pilots Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris led Verstappen by 104 and 70 points atop the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship through 15 of the 24 rounds. But six Grand Prix wins over the final nine rounds saw Verstappen finish just two points shy of Norris and 11 ahead of Piastri.
Mekies decided to continue updating Red Bull’s car deep into last season, whereas McLaren ceased their development in July to prioritise the 2026 F1 regulations. Despite the benefits for Verstappen in 2025, Mekies admits Red Bull’s 2025 upgrades could “cost” them in 2026.
Prove me wrong: Red Bull replacing Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies was the best decision they made in 2025
Zak Brown hails Laurent Mekies for changing the culture Christian Horner set at Red Bull
McLaren CEO Brown admires the work that Mekies oversaw at Red Bull last year to turn the outfit’s fortunes around after replacing Horner. Brown can especially see Mekies’ impact on Red Bull’s “culture”, which he believes needed a refresh after seeing problems under Horner.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies
Brown believes McLaren’s “biggest strength” is the culture that he has established alongside team principal Andrea Stella. But he feels Red Bull were paying the price for the culture that Horner oversaw at the end of the 52-year-old’s time in charge of the Milton Keynes natives.
“Laurent’s done a very good job,” Brown said, via GPBlog. “Culture in sport, in business and in life is so important, and I think that’s been our biggest strength.
“I’m obsessed with our people, and I’m obsessed with our culture. That’s what I spend all my time on. And when things aren’t going well…
“Red Bull are an unbelievable team, but you could see where the stress was in the system, and the performance started to dip. Laurent’s come in, I think he’s a very good leader, and the performance popped right back up. So, I think culture is what’s critical in any business.”
Zak Brown has reaped the rewards from changing McLaren’s culture
Brown was “shocked” by the “arrogance” at McLaren when he first joined the Woking outfit in November 2016. He felt those in charge of the team at the time directed too much blame at Honda’s engine for their struggles, which switching to Renault in 2018 proved was wrong.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
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Appointing Stella as McLaren’s team principal in December 2022 then helped Brown change the team’s momentum, which put them on a path to topple Red Bull in 2024. McLaren won back-to-back constructors’ titles in 2024 and 2025, and Norris won the 2025 drivers’ title.
Mekies will hope the changes he made in Milton Keynes last year mean Red Bull do not wait as long to return to the top. Horner oversaw each of Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen’s four drivers’ titles each from 2010-13 and 2021-24, as well as all six of their constructors’ crowns.
Horner even established Red Bull Powertrains during his tenure in charge of Red Bull Racing, and the first RBPT engine built in partnership with Ford – another deal that Horner arranged – will hit the grid in 2026. There are concerns about the reliability of Red Bull’s 2026 engine.
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