ANALYSIS: The key questions after Horner leaves his role as Red Bull Team Principal

It’s all change at Red Bull with news Christian Horner has left his role as Team Principal with Laurent Mekies coming across from sister team Racing Bulls to replace him. F1 Correspondent Lawrence Barretto looks at the key questions surrounding the move…

What’s the current state of play?

On Wednesday morning, just three days after the British Grand Prix, Red Bull confirmed that Horner – who has led the team since they entered the sport 20 years ago – was no longer in charge of the six-time Teams’ World Championship-winning outfit.

Mekies got the nod to replace him, having impressed Red Bull with the way he has led sister outfit Racing Bulls since the start of last year. Alan Permane has been promoted from Racing Director to take his place.

Why did Red Bull move now?

Red Bull have endured a difficult start to the season, with the team fourth in the Teams’ Championship on 172 points, 288 behind leaders McLaren after 12 rounds and well out of contention. This time last year, they were leading the way, having scored 201 points more than their current tally.

After just a few rounds, Red Bull admitted that their focus was the Drivers’ Championship – as that was their most realistic chance of silverware this year – but despite securing two wins, Max Verstappen has fallen away from championship leader Oscar Piastri and now trails by 69 points.

The outlook for the rest of the season, then, looks bleak. And it’s been trending this way for a while, with the team having won just four of the last 26 Grands Prix.

That form has coincided with some key departures in the last 15 months, including design genius Adrian Newey who departed for Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley who has become Sauber’s Team Principal.

After weeks of talks, Red Bull senior leaders have decided that change was needed now, especially with 2026 – where there will be sweeping changes to the chassis and power unit regulations – on the horizon. That’ll be the first season where Red Bull will run their own power unit, created in conjunction with American automotive giant Ford.

Does Mekies have what it takes?

Red Bull bosses rate Mekies highly. He was drafted in to lead the rebranded Racing Bulls team at the start of last season, forming a close partnership with CEO Peter Bayer. Together they led a restructured team, that has since grown in terms of personnel and infrastructure with the team now having buildings on Red Bull’s Milton Keynes campus alongside their Italian facility in Faenza.

Racing Bulls have emerged as a strong midfield operation this season and are in the fight to finish fifth in the Teams’ Championship under Mekies’ leadership.

The Frenchman is highly-rated by those who have worked for him at Racing Bulls, as well as those who worked with him at his former team Ferrari and governing body the FIA. His good relationship with Red Bull senior management should help ease the transition into what is one of the biggest jobs in motorsport.

What is next for Horner?

Horner became F1’s youngest team boss when Red Bull appointed him to lead their F1 project in 2005. It came after his success in junior formulae, where he co-founded the Arden International team.

He led Red Bull to eight Drivers’ Championships and six Teams’ titles and, while he’s been linked to other teams in the past, he remained loyal to Red Bull.

Horner has yet to comment following the news so it remains to be seen what his next steps may be.

What impact does this have on Verstappen’s future?

It’ll be interesting to hear from Verstappen when the Formula 1 family reconvenes for the next race in Belgium.

The Dutchman – who has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028 – has remained tight-lipped about his future, despite rumours linking him to Mercedes.

Over the course of the British Grand Prix weekend, sources suggested such a move in the short term was increasingly unlikely.

Further talks are likely to take place behind closed doors following Horner’s departure.

How are Racing Bulls set?

Permane joined Racing Bulls last year as Racing Director and is well-respected throughout the F1 paddock.

He has over 30 years of experience from working at Enstone through their various guises including Benetton, Renault, Lotus and Alpine.

The 58-year-old worked his way up from test electronics engineer at Benetton, taking on roles including race engineer, chief operating officer and sporting director before parting ways with Alpine.

His experience within the sport along with the fact he’s had 18 months at Racing Bulls, and has CEO Bayer for support, should help him hit the ground running with the Team Principal role.