- Laurent Mekies becomes CEO of Red Bull Racing
- Alan Permane will replace Mekies as Racing Bulls team principal
Christian Horner has been sacked as Red Bull team principal.
Horner’s dismissal comes 17 months after he was accused by a female colleague of “inappropriate behaviour”. Horner was twice exonerated of the claims by the Formula One team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH.
On Wednesday a statement from Red Bull GmbH read: ‘Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today (Wednesday 9th July 2025) and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing.’
Mekies will be replaced by Alan Permane at Racing Bulls.
Horner, 51, had been team principal at Red Bull since 2005, overseeing eight drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.
However, Red Bull’s form has slumped with four-time world champion Max Verstappen having won only two of the 12 races staged this season.
Verstappen finished fifth in Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone – a race which would turn out to be Horner’s last in charge.
Red Bull Group chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff said: “We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years.
“With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula One.
“Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”
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Horner’s future has been under the microscope following one of the biggest scandals to engulf Formula One.
At last year’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner was cleared following an internal investigation into claims of wrongdoing by a female staff member at Red Bull, only for hundreds of WhatsApp messages, appearing to be exchanged between Horner and the complainant, were leaked to the Formula One world.
Horner, married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, fought on and was cleared internally on two occasions, but he lost a number of key figures at Red Bull, with design guru Adrian Newey, chief designer Rob Marshall and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley all departing.
Verstappen’s future at Red Bull has also been in the spotlight. His father, Jos, claimed in Bahrain a year ago that Red Bull would “explode” if Horner remained in his role.
Verstappen went on to win a fourth consecutive world championships last year, but, despite being under contract until 2028, he has been linked with a move away.
Horner was subjected to boos at Formula One’s launch in London in February and McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said in an interview with the PA news agency the following month he would feel “vulnerable” if he were in Horner’s shoes.
Brown said: “When I go and meet my board, I would not be feeling great because they would be going, ‘Well, why did he leave? Why did he leave? And why did he leave? Oh, and by the way, you didn’t seem to get a very warm welcome at the launch’. I don’t know how they feel. But I would feel vulnerable.”
BlackBook says…
This decision is nothing short of seismic for the Red Bull Formula One team.
In many ways, the team is Christian Horner as he has left an indelible mark on the organisation he has led for over 20 years.
Laurent Mekies earns a well-deserved promotion from the Racing Bulls team, but it will be fascinating to see how he navigates a team so deeply moulded in someone else’s image – and, crucially, a team that appears to be spiralling out of control.
On-track performances have become increasingly inconsistent, and rumours around star driver Max Verstappen suggest he could jump ship at the earliest opportunity – potentially to rivals Mercedes.
Horner only survived the recent allegations of inappropriate behaviour thanks to the backing of Chalerm Yoovidhya, the 51 per cent shareholder of Red Bull GmbH. Horner’s departure now suggests Yoovidhya has been convinced that losing Verstappen would be terminal for the team’s future prospects.
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