"Nobody is going to replace his character," Mekies refers to Horner
Having replaced Christian Horner as Red Bull's team boss ahead of the British Grand Pri, Laurent Mekies conceded that "nobody is going to replace him like for like."
Just two days after the British Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that team boss Christian Horner would leave the team with immediate effect.
The Briton has been at the helm for almost the entire team's history in F1 but his exit follows a couple of troublesome years of internal struggles since Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz passed away.
Horner has been in charge of Red Bull since the team entered the sport in 2025, serving as team principal for two decades. During that time, the 51-year-old Briton has led Red Bull to six constructors' and eight drivers' world championship titles.
Red Bull elected to promote Laurent Mekies to lead the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Mekies began his career at Arrows before working as a race engineer at Minardi. He was promoted to chief engineer at Toro Rosso prior to becoming the safety director and, later, deputy race director at the FIA.
Prior to his time with Red Bull GmbH, he served as sporting director and deputy team principal at Ferrari from 2018 to 2023.
Asked whether he spoken to Christian Horner since taken on the job and whether he feels under pressure to fill his shoes both on and off the track, Mekies said: "At first, yes, we have spoken. He has been nothing else than supportive even in the extremely difficult context for him. He was the first one to text, he was the first one to call.
"I think, again this morning or yesterday we texted again. He has been nothing else than supportive, which is very impressive in the context. Nobody is going to replace his character.
"Nobody is going to replace him like for like. I come in to do the CEO and team principal job. Is there any way one can do it in the same way as Christian? No. Or at least, certainly not me. But we’ll be relying on the incredible strengths that there are in this team. Everybody is stepping up.
"It’s certainly an opportunity to look for even more empowerment of our people. Every time we have discussions with Jonathan, we talk about how much strength in depth you have in this team, and that’s what you find.
"We will certainly look at this phase as a way to get our incredible people to step up and create together the next competitive advantage for the next regulation phase."
Pressed on to reveal how Red Bull's team members dealt with the seismic shift at the Austrian-British outfit, Mekies said that everyone has been supportive.
"For sure, the first 24 hours were a big adjustment because nobody was expecting it. The first few hours after the announcement were a surprise for everyone and certainly a digesting phase for everyone.
"What can I say after that? I’ve only been finding a huge amount of support from everyone. They just want to go racing. They are hugely respectful, and we all are, of the achievements that have been made under Christian’s leadership.
"Could I be hoping for more support, openness from the people I’ve been meeting these last two weeks? No. Everybody has been incredibly supportive, willing to open the door, willing to speak, to listen, to explain their limitations and strengths, how we go next about going back to the racetrack and fighting at an even higher level tomorrow. That’s what I’ve found."
