Laurent Mekies, the current figurehead on the Red Bull pit wall, has explained that being offered a team principal role was “a train you cannot miss”, even though part of him would have liked to continue his journey with Ferrari.
An important career
Laurent Mekies first entered Formula 1 in the early 2000s, working as an engineer initially at Arrows, then at Minardi, and later at Toro Rosso. In 2014, he moved to the FIA as safety director, a period during which he was one of the key figures behind the introduction of the Halo. He later went on to serve as deputy race director.
In 2018, the French manager joined Ferrari as sporting director during the Mattia Binotto era. With the arrival of Frédéric Vasseur, Laurent Mekies initially remained in his role, but in July 2023 he accepted an offer from Racing Bulls to take on the position of team principal. The dismissal of Christian Horner two years later opened the doors to Red Bull, where Laurent Mekies is now serving as team principal.
Mekies and Ferrari
In an interview given to Corriere della Sera during the Abu Dhabi weekend, Laurent Mekies spoke openly about his departure from Maranello.
“Ferrari was a wonderful experience. There was also a close relationship with Fred, so it would have been nice to stay. But I was offered a team principal role at Racing Bulls: a train I could not miss. Then life brought me here to Red Bull…” Laurent Mekies said.
Looking back, Laurent Mekies’ decision can only be seen as the right one. The Frenchman was selected by Red Bull executive Oliver Mintzlaff to take charge of the team and has quickly built an excellent relationship with Max Verstappen, who never misses an opportunity to praise him in interviews.
However, the next season is already just around the corner. “We lost time on 2026 development,” Laurent Mekies admitted when speaking about the reigning world champions, before adding: “We know we will have to suffer at the beginning, it would be naive to say otherwise.”
Leave a Reply