Who will replace Christian Horner at Red Bull?

The Brit was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, just days after he denied the team was in trouble following the British Grand Prix.

Horner had denied a rift was growing between himself and defending F1 world champion Max Verstappen, with the RB21 off the pact at Silverstone.

He said afterwards: “I’ve run this team for 21 years. We’ve had a great deal of success — more than any other team in the 21st century. So no, I’m not planning to change how I operate.”

Horner had a contract to lead the team to the end of the 2030 season but will now likely receive a payout. Red Bull has thanked him for his service but did not state the reasons for the sacking.

Verstappen has won the previous four world titles and has two wins to his name this season but is distantly trailing McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, first and second respectively in the driver’s world championship.

Red Bull is fourth in the constructor’s championship, behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

The second Red Bull drive has swapped from Liam Lawson to Yuki Tsunoda but neither has been able to drive the car beyond the ninth place the Japanese managed in Bahrain.

Lawson has had more luck in the Racing Bulls car, officially the team’s second string operation, achieving a sixth place in Austria.

Red Bull has now placed its trust in a new chief executive officer, Laurent Mekies.

Who is Laurent Mekies?

Frenchman Mekies, 48, will step up from team principal of Red Bull’s junior team, RB, to take Horner’s role with immediate effect. Mekies will be replaced by Alan Permane.

He joined the Formula One paddock in 2001 as an engineer. He worked with a variety of teams, including Minardi and Arrows, before joining Ferrari in 2019 where he worked as deputy team principal until 2023.

Since then he has been in the Red Bull operation, working for Racing Bulls from last year until now. He also has experience of working with the FIA.