Laurent Mekies given new Red Bull responsibilities ahead of Dutch Grand Prix

Laurent Mekies has been appointed as a director of Red Bull’s F1 holding company, replacing Christian Horner.

Mekies took over from Horner in his Red Bull Racing roles as CEO and team principal, but was conspicuously not included in paperwork confirming the company’s new directorship structure.

Laurent Mekies confirmed as Red Bull director

Documents lodged with the UK’s Companies House, the legal register for UK-based companies, has confirmed Laurent Mekies has been appointed as a director of Red Bull Technology Ltd. – the holding company which encompasses all five of Red Bull’s F1-related operations, including Red Bull Racing.

Having replaced the axed Christian Horner in his Red Bull Racing roles as CEO and team principal, Mekies was initially not part of a raft of paperwork changes lodged with Companies House two weeks ago as Red Bull GmbH made changes to give HR head Stefan Salzer a directorship role alongside Alistair Rew, while Horner was terminated as a director.

However, on Thursday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, further changes were lodged with Companies House to confirm that Mekies has been appointed as a director for the holding company.

Horner had been a director of all of Red Bull’s companies, meaning Mekies not being appointed similarly was, initially, a glaring omission.

The delay in the appointment is likely due to the timing of the F1 summer break, with a team boss such as Mekies not being allowed to be in the factory at Milton Keynes.

Mekies has also been made a director at the companies under the holding company, including Red Bull Powertrains, Red Bull Racing, and Red Bull Advanced Technology.

Helmut Marko, Horner’s fellow director at the companies under the holding company, remains in place, but does not have a directorship role at the holding company itself.

While Companies House doesn’t directly describe the type of directorship roles held by individuals, a safe assumption would be that Salzer and Rew operate in a non-executive capacity, being less involved in the day-to-day with their contribution to the company being more by way of expertise and independent judgment without any operational duties.

With Mekies being directly involved in the day-to-day and playing a hands-on role in daily operations, he conforms with the definition of an executive director, as did Horner.

Following the removal of Horner as a director, here are the updated company structures:

Red Bull Technology Ltd. (Holding company): Stefan Salzer, Alistair Rew, and Laurent Mekies.
Red Bull Racing: Helmut Marko, Stefan Salzer and Laurent Mekies.
Red Bull Powertrains: Helmut Marko, Alistair Rew and Laurent Mekies.
Red Bull Advanced Technologies: Helmut Marko, Alistair Rew and Laurent Mekies.
Red Bull Advanced Services: Helmut Marko, Alistair Rew, and Laurent Mekies.

Mekies is also still listed as a director at Racing Bulls S.p.A. through its UK entity registration, although this is likely to be down to a delay in paperwork.

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