Christian Horner exit detail emerges after Mekies takes Red Bull reins

Laurent Mekies was installed as the new Red Bull Racing CEO in place of the sacked Christian Horner. Mekies has revealed the detail that he was never told why Horner was dismissed.

In the days following the British Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that Horner – their team boss since day one – had been relieved of his duties. Mekies was promoted from Racing Bulls team principal to Red Bull Racing CEO, taking Horner’s place.

Laurent Mekies in the dark over Christian Horner sack

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The decision brought to an end a challenging final 18 months for Horner. He was twice cleared by Red Bull following inappropriate behaviour allegations from a fellow employee, while key figures such as Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Rob Marshall left the team. On track, performance waned.

Mekies was the figure Red Bull turned to for the post-Horner era, though he did not find out why the decision was taken.

“The short answer is no, they haven’t,” said Mekies when asked by media, including PlanetF1.com, at the Belgian GP, whether Red Bull had told him why Horner was dismissed.

“We didn’t get into the why and the why now, but they outlined the sort of objectives they had for the team moving forward.”

He added: “One thing that is very high in our priorities is to make sure that we have the right focus, that we avoid any bottlenecking in the company at all levels.

“It’s with that spirit that we look at what we need to do next. For sure, Formula 1 comes first. We have the chassis operation, the power unit operation. That’s what is going to be the main focus. It’s a racing team. People in the team love racing. That’s what they are here for. That’s going to be where the main focus is.”

More on the Red Bull reshuffle

👉 Who is Laurent Mekies? Christian Horner’s Red Bull replacement

👉 Who is Alan Permane? Meet Racing Bulls’ new team boss

With Mekies swiftly announced as Horner’s replacement, question marks were raised over how long-term of an appointment this was for Red Bull.

Mekies was asked if he could offer any further insight.

“Not sure how much I can share,” he said. “Seriously, I don’t think anyone doubts what Red Bull F1 is here to do in terms of objectives. I don’t think anyone doubts what the objectives of the team are short-term, mid‑term, long-term: it’s to fight for wins and to fight for championships. That’s what it is.

“In terms of mission statements, that’s of course the objective for the time being.

“For the short-term and the mid‑term, is it different to what it was yesterday? No. Does anyone have a contract that guarantees him to stay forever? No. I don’t either. But I think it’s pretty normal in Formula 1.”

Red Bull sit fourth in the F1 2025 Constructors’ Championship standings with 10 rounds to go. The gap to Mercedes one position ahead is 42 points, while Ferrari is 66 points up the road in the battle for runner-up to the dominant McLaren.

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