Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies has revealed how he transitioned from Racing Bulls to managing Red Bull Racing midway through the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Starting the 2025 season at Racing Bulls, Mekies managed the demotion of Liam Lawson back to the team after two races, while Yuki Tsunoda moved up to Red Bull.
The VCARB 02 proved to be a benign and competitive car in the hands of Lawson and Tsunoda in the first half of the season, at times close to the parent team’s machine.
However, once Christian Horner had been fired following the British Grand Prix, Mekies succeeded the Briton as Red Bull’s Team Principal and CEO.
Mekies oversaw a remarkable turnaround that saw Max Verstappen miss out on the Drivers’ title by only two points to eventual champion, McLaren’s Lando Norris.
However, Mekies maintains his impact on the team’s competitiveness was negligible, praising the team’s welcome of their new leader in the difficult circumstances.
“I think you really have to make a conscious effort not to refer back to Racing Bulls because of how different the projects were,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“So that effort needed to be conscious, then after there has been a huge amount of support from the team to help me get into it.
“They’ve been extremely welcoming, extremely open-minded, and extremely willing to share their approaches.”
Analysing himself to manage a title-challenging F1 operation
Mekies spoke of the challenges of taking on the mantle at Red Bull, revealing he needed a complete reset in his approach to extract the best from himself and the team.
“What was working, what was not working, but, in terms of jumping in, I think yes, from Racing Bulls, there needed to be a complete reset,” he continued.
“So perhaps, in some respect, there are more similarities with the Ferrari era in terms of the size of the team, the pressure of fighting at the front, and the chassis plus engine.
“But there again, the approach has been of ‘let’s not try to get reference points of the past’.
“Let’s just try to get to know as many people as possible, as fast as we can, and then have a grasp of the dynamics and where we can support.”
Mekies highlighted the differing pressures associated with managing a title-challenging operation, but he insisted he had no impact on the competitive turnaround.
“I still mean it!” he remarked.
“I think it’s an outstanding group that never gives up, we only want to do pure racing, and all we have done together is concentrate on pure racing, and that’s it.
“I guess the job is to protect the group in such a way that they can concentrate on what they are so good at, which is having the technical discussions as the difficult ones, but doing it in an environment where you can have difficult discussions, because all we are seeking to achieve is to get the car faster.
“I think the group is very tight and has a fantastic atmosphere. We have our difficult moments. We have our difficult conversations because not everything is black and white. We don’t have an answer for everything.
“But you see that the fire inside is not a fire to go against the teammates. It’s a fire to get that car faster. Huge credit needs to go to them for what, in any case, has been achieved this year because it has been a turnaround of some magnitude.”
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