When Christian Horner was let go a couple of weeks ago, Red Bull was quick to appoint Racing Bulls Team Principal, Laurent Mekies, to Red Bull Team Principal. With this move, they also promoted Alan Permane to team principal of Racing Bulls.
Before the Belgian Grand Prix, Permane spoke very highly of his former boss, and thinks he’s the right man to lead Red Bull moving forward.
Alan Permane thinks Laurent Mekies is the man for the job
Christian Horner’s name has become synonymous with Red Bull racing over the past 20 years. He was their first and only team principal in team history, and helped the team win eight drivers and six constructors’ championships during his tenure.
With his departure, a new era of Red Bull Racing begins. While we don’t know if Mekies is a temporary or permanent replacement. It will likely depend on his performance the rest of the season. Former Racing Bulls Racing Director, Alan Permane, thinks he’s the man for the job.
“I think they’re getting a great guy, honestly. He’s a people person. He’s a racer. He knows racing, but he’s exceptionally good with people,” Permane told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview. “I’ve worked with a lot of team principals in my 36 years in Formula 1, and he’s right up there with the best of them.”
Mekies’s F1 career started as an engineer over 20 years ago. He’s since risen through the ranks, and after 23 years in the sport, he was appointed team principal of Racing Bulls in 2024. Now, he’ll take over one of the most decorated teams in Formula 1 over the past 20 years.
What does the future hold for Mekies and Red Bull?
It’s no secret that Red Bull has been on a downward trajectory for the past year and a half. They went from having one of the most dominant cars in F1 history to P4 in the constructors’ with a second car that can’t score meaningful points.
Needless to say, there are a lot of question marks about the future of Red Bull Racing. With the new set of regulations coming into effect next year, Red Bull is ditching their Honda partnership in favour of building their power unit. And with the unpredictability of these new regulations, nobody knows how their car will perform.
There’s also the question of Max Verstappen’s future. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll make a move before 2026, but if the Red Bull car struggles early in the new regulations, he could leave before the start of the 2027 season.
Mekies will have his hands full at his new job. Red Bull desperately needs someone who can step in and help stabilise things internally while also helping to produce better results on track. This is no small task, but Permane seems to think his former boss is up for it.
