New Red Bull boss discovers 'very complex group' in taking over from Christian Horner

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies feels he still has a lot to learn after discovering "a very complex group" in taking over on the pit wall from Christian Horner for the first time.

A new era at Red Bull was ushered in over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. After 20 years and an unbroken 405 races at the helm, and with Horner in attendance at every one, his recent sacking meant the team had a new face at the helm.

After previously working at the FIA and Ferrari, as well as serving as team principal at Racing Bulls for 18 months, Mekies has taken on the Herculean task of stepping into Horner's shoes and steadying a ship that had started to veer off course under the Briton's reign.

After two intense weeks at the factory, getting up to speed, Mekies oversaw his first race weekend, and was at least blessed with a winning start courtesy of Max Verstappen's sprint victory on Saturday.

The grand prix proved to be more difficult, with Verstappen starting and finishing fourth, with Red Bull not aided by calls from FIA race director Rui Marques around the wet conditions, which did not impress Mekies.

Reflecting on his first race weekend in charge, speaking to the media after being asked by RacingNews365, Mekies said: "After two weeks at the factory, trying to meet as many people as possible, it was nice to also meet the race team, enter into the race dynamics, and see the flow, processes, and operations.

"So that was super good, in terms of getting to know the team, as you would imagine."

Appreciating what he experienced with Red Bull compared to Racing Bulls, Mekies added: "It's a team where everything is done at a mega level.

"There is a very, very tight group, a very complex group, so there is still a lot more for me to learn about the group, but it was a very good, full immersion weekend."