Red Bull welcome 'new chapter' after shock Christian Horner exit

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has marked the outfit's major leadership changes as a "new chapter", following the shock departure of Christian Horner. 

It was announced on Wednesday morning that Horner and Red Bull had parted ways after over 20 years together, with Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies having been promoted to replace him. 

Mekies has become Red Bull's new team principal and CEO, whilst Alan Permane has taken Mekies' position as Racing Bulls team boss. 

In Marko's eyes, the promotions of Mekies and Permane made "logical" sense. Permane had been Racing Bulls' sporting director, but will lead the team into the second half of the F1 season.

As for Mekies, he finds himself in Horner's old position just two years after re-joining the Red Bull family from Ferrari. 

The Austrian outfit was eager to promote from within, rather than replace Horner with someone from outside the Milton Keynes-based team. 

"A new chapter will begin at Red Bull Racing and the Racing Bulls in Belgium – with Laurent Mekies as Team Principal at RBR and Alan Permane as Team Principal at the Racing Bulls," Marko wrote in his Speedweek column.

"As the previous sporting director of the Racing Bulls, Alan was the logical choice for us, as we didn't want to bring in anyone from outside. Essentially, we simply expanded his previous role.

"Laurent was also a natural fit for the new job for the same reasons: as an internal solution and also as a man with vast experience. 

"Thanks to his diverse activities, including later work with the FIA ​​and Ferrari, Laurent has everything he needs to lead a top team with a skilled hand."