Why new Red Bull F1 team boss Laurent Mekies is “up there with the best”

Incoming Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane believes his Formula 1 squad's parent team Red Bull is in good hands with Laurent Mekies.

Mekies was appointed Red Bull F1 team boss and CEO earlier this month as Red Bull's top management decided to remove Christian Horner after 20 years in the role.

While Red Bull has seen a slide in competitiveness over the past 18 months, with question marks over star asset Max Verstappen's long-term future, Mekies will have big shoes to fill as Horner built up the team from the remnants of an underperforming Jaguar outfit and led it through two dominant spells with Sebastian Vettel and then Verstappen.

Adding to the complexity of the role, Horner also commissioned a Red Bull Powertrains arm to take power unit development in-house for the 2026 regulations, based at its expanding Milton Keynes campus.

But having worked with Mekies at Racing Bulls over the past year and a half, Permane said he feels Mekies has all the right attributes and experience for one of F1's most complicated jobs.

"I think they're getting a great guy, honestly," Permane told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview. "He's a people person. He's a racer. He knows racing, but he's exceptionally good with people.

"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."

Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls, Alan Permane, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Asked about his own role, which will involve splitting time between Racing Bulls' dual headquarters in Faenza and Milton Keynes, he added: "For me, huge boots to fill. I'm very fortunate that there's a really strong management team across Faenza and Milton Keynes, and they are just brilliant.

"I know them well, because I've sat on that management team for the last 18 months, and they're helping with the transition. But as I say, Red Bull are getting someone very good and very capable of leading them."

And while Mekies will likely put his own stamp on Red Bull after an assessment period, Permane feels the Frenchman's history at Racing Bulls will ensure continuity as the two squads work together as closely as the regulations allow. As well as taking suspension parts and gearboxes, Racing Bulls will also move to Red Bull's in-house engines in 2026.

"It'll be extremely helpful, but Laurent and Christian worked well together," Permane said. "The synergy works well, and we will continue that synergy programme within what the regulations allow.

"We will both be in Milton Keynes at times, but there'll be times I'll be in Faenza and the technical team in Milton Keynes will look after that synergy stuff, so I don't see any issues there at all."

Permane started his F1 career as an engineer with Benetton in 1989 and became a key pillar of the Enstone team through its Renault, Lotus and Alpine guises until he was dismissed in the summer of 2023, alongside then-team boss Otmar Szafnauer. He started at Racing Bulls in January 2024 as racing director.