Christian Horner fired from Red Bull Formula 1 team and replaced by Laurent Mekies

"Red Bull has removed Christian Horner from his operational duties effective today, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, and appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing," announced the Red Bull Formula 1 team. It abruptly ended twenty years of collaboration with the British boss of the team that has dominated F1 in recent years.

Chris Horner has led Red Bull since its first season in F1 in 2005. "Through his unwavering commitment, experience, expertise and innovative spirit, he has played a key role in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1," the team thanked him.

The Briton has contributed to Red Bull's six constructors' world titles (2010 to 2013, then 2022 and 2023) and eight drivers' titles – four for German Sebastian Vettel (2010 to 2013) and as many for Dutchman Max Verstappen (2021 to 2024).

He was the subject of an internal investigation in 2024, which resulted in his being cleared after accusations of "inappropriate behavior" were made by a team employee. Max Verstappen's father, former driver Jos Verstappen, had publicly called for his departure. Since then, a simmering power struggle has pitted the team boss against the Austrian parent company, Red Bull GMBH.

Frenchman Laurent Mekies will immediately take over. Previously the director of Racing Bulls, the "sister" team and a springboard for young drivers, the 48-year-old from Tours joins the cohort of engineers who have risen to the head of a team, such as Frédéric Vasseur at Ferrari, Andrea Stella at McLaren, and James Vowles at Williams. "Contributing to the birth of Racing Bulls has been an incredible adventure," he said.

Arriving in the Red Bull galaxy in 2024, Laurent Mekies spent nearly six years at Ferrari as sporting director and then race director (2018-2024), without winning any titles. Previously, he worked for the Fédération Internationale Automobile (FIA) as safety director and then deputy race director (2014-2018), where he successfully established the safety halo in single-seaters.

This device, a titanium roll bar fixed in the driver's line of sight, protects the driver, whose cockpit is open, in the event of a rollover or direct frontal impact. He succeeded in making this halo mandatory in 2018, three years after the death of Nice driver Jules Bianchi, following an accident during the Japanese Grand Prix, on the Suzuka circuit.