[Image: Crashnet / Facebook]
Red Bull Racing just dropped the bombshell that Christian Horner is exiting “with immediate effect,” which is just a nice way of saying “pack your stuff and get out”.
Laurent Mekies, team principal at Racing Bulls, has been promoted from the junior team and will now take over from Horner after he was fired on Wednesday morning.
The 51-year-old Horner was the longest-serving team principal, having been in the position since Red Bull made its Formula One debut in 2005.
BREAKING: Christian Horner is to exit Red Bull Racing with immediate effect#F1 pic.twitter.com/v50mwnBlV6
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2025
An official statement from the team said: “With immediate effect, Laurent Mekies will take over the duties of CEO at Red Bull Racing. As part of his change, Alan Permane, currently Racing Director, will be promoted to Team Principal at Racing Bulls.”
Meanwhile, Mekies himself said: “The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter [Bayer].
“It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people. The spirit of the whole team is incredible, and I strongly believe that this is just the beginning.”
“Alan [Permane] is the perfect man to take over now and continue our path. He knows the team inside out and has always been an important pillar of our early successes.”
In 2002, Laurent Mekies began a 12-year journey in Faenza when he joined Minardi as a race engineer. When the team became Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006, he stepped up as Chief Engineer, managing everything from car assembly to race-day execution, before moving on to lead six departments as Head of Vehicle Performance.
In 2014, Mekies joined the FIA as Safety Director, overseeing safety and medical operations across all championships, as well as R&D and homologation for track and road applications. By early 2017, he was appointed F1 Deputy Race Director, working closely with Charlie Whiting while managing sporting matters across the FIA’s single-seater categories.
Laurent moved to Scuderia Ferrari as Sporting Director in September 2018, later expanding his role to Head of Track & Performance in 2019, and becoming Racing Director in 2021. After leaving Ferrari in mid-2023, he took the helm as VCARB team principal, and has now stepped in to replace Christian Horner at Red Bull.
[Source: GPFans]
