Red Bull name Christian Horner replacement after shock exit

Red Bull has confirmed Laurent Mekies will replace Christian Horner as team principal of the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Red Bull confirmed on Wednesday morning that Horner will depart his leading role with the team, a position he has held since the outfit's inception in 2005.

However, following a difficult opening half to the ongoing campaign, Red Bull has opted to make a change to its senior structure.

Mekies has been promoted to the position of team principal at Red Bull, having worked in the same position at the Racing Bulls team for the last 18 months.

The Frenchman has had a long working relationship with the Red Bull F1 structure, having held a role within the team from 2005 to 2014 before moving to the FIA.

There, he served as safety director before being appointed to F1 deputy race director in 2017.

He returned to the F1 paddock in a competitive environment with Ferrari as deputy team principal in 2021, a position he held for just under two years before leaving the Italian squad.

Under his leadership, the sister Red Bull team finished eighth in last year's F1 championship and has enjoyed a strong start to this year's campaign.

It has bagged 36 points in the opening 12 races, leaving it seventh in the standings.