F1 | Laurent Mekies on the Red Bull challenge: “There’s a similarity with Ferrari!”. Laurent Mekies shares his experience taking over Red Bull mid-season.

Laurent Mekies, who took over from Christian Horner mid-season as head of Red Bull Racing, has opened up about his experience leading a championship-contending team.

Mekies explained how he managed one of the most delicate transitions of the 2025 season, moving mid-championship from his role as team principal of the Racing Bulls to CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing. The sudden and high-pressure change came after Christian Horner was dismissed following the British Grand Prix.

Mekies began 2025 leading the Racing Bulls, where he was immediately faced with complex decisions, such as reintegrating Liam Lawson into the satellite team after just two races with Red Bull, and promoting Yuki Tsunoda to the main team. However, the move to Red Bull presented an entirely new challenge for Mekies, who took over a team in the midst of a management crisis but capable of an extraordinary comeback. Under his leadership, Max Verstappen fought for the title until the final race, ultimately finishing the World Championship just two points behind champion Lando Norris.

Mekies on his experience

Despite the impressive results, Mekies downplayed his direct impact on the team’s competitiveness: “I think you have to make a conscious effort not to refer back to the Racing Bulls, even though the projects were different,” he told the media. “This effort had to be intentional, and then there was enormous support from the team to help me step into the role. They were extremely welcoming, very open-minded, and incredibly willing to share their approaches.”

Mekies described having to completely “reset” his working methods to adapt to a team fighting for the title: “I had to understand what worked and what didn’t… but in terms of stepping in, yes, coming from the Racing Bulls, for me it required a complete reset. In some ways, there are more similarities with my time at Ferrari, due to the team’s size, the pressure to compete at the top, and the fact of managing both chassis and engine.”

Handling the pressures of a title team

On the pressures of leading a title-contending team, Mekies was clear in putting his own role into perspective: “I still think that!” he said, referring to the fact that he hadn’t changed the team’s performance. “It’s an extraordinary group that never gives up. We just want to focus on pure racing. The team is very united and has a fantastic atmosphere. We go through tough moments and difficult conversations because not everything is black or white. The fire inside us isn’t against teammates—it’s to make the car faster. Huge credit goes to them for what has been achieved this year: an extraordinary comeback.”