The 2025 Belgian Grand Prix signalled the beginning of a new era for Red Bull as Laurent Mekies stepped into the team principal role, following the sensational departure of Christian Horner after the British GP.
For the first time in 406 Formula 1 races, Horner was not at the helm, and all eyes were on how Mekies would guide the Milton Keynes-based squad into a future that promises as much uncertainty as opportunity.
Horner was axed after the British GP to bring an end to a hugely successful, if not tumultuous, reign at the helm of the Austrian energy drink manufacturer’s F1 team, making way for a new era to dawn just before a new set of regulations are waved in for 2026.
Former Ferrari and FIA engineer Laurent Mekies is the man chosen to fill that void, having been filling the same role at Racing Bulls over the past 18 months and assisting that team’s CEO Peter Bayer in turning fortunes around to make it more competitive. The Frenchman gives a point of difference in that he will be able to take driver feedback on board and act with a hands-on approach, given his more technical background.
But he will be lacking the political firepower of his predecessor – not that he will need that straight away. The priority, as Mekies himself explained, is focusing on car performance and keeping hold of star driver Max Verstappen.
“I’m sure Max wants a fast car and if we get him a fast car, I’m sure it’s cancelling out all the other considerations,” said Mekies. “So really the focus is very much to try to get to know the team as quickly as possible in order to see how we can support, how we can build the next step of competitiveness in order to get a fast car and hence to make it an easy call for Max.”
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First weekend to build on
What would have helped that issue was a winning first appearance as Red Bull team principal.
Ok, it was in the sprint race but the fact that the team’s engineers figured out that a low downforce set-up would be king in the shortened event was a promising sign.
With a skinny rear wing, Verstappen was able to secure second in sprint qualifying, splitting the dominant McLarens, before using his advantage to scythe past Oscar Piastri on the run to Les Combes on the opening lap.
The straight-line speed advantage was such that Piastri had no answer for the four-time world champion, even with DRS enabled down the long Kemmel Straight, giving Verstappen, Mekies and Red Bull the perfect start for the new era.
A wet set-up for the race was applied ready for the second parc ferme when the cars rolled out for the first section of qualifying on Saturday afternoon and that was reflected in Verstappen qualifying fourth on the grid, behind the McLaren duo and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It was where he would stay in the race after being hamstrung by the decision not to start the race in the worst of the wet conditions on Sunday, with the 44-lap event instead delayed by 80-minutes to allow the track to dry. Four laps behind the safety car on intermediates were followed by 10 racing laps before the crossover point, though by that time the track was pretty dry anyway and the wet tyres were burning up.
Verstappen was unimpressed by the delay to the start which ruined his and Red Bull’s plan – a plan that could have payed dividends otherwise.
Tsunoda improvement down to Mekies?
The final classification somewhat masks the much-improved weekend Yuki Tsunoda was able to put together in the second Red Bull.
Finding performance in the seat alongside Verstappen is another of Mekies‘ priorities ahead of next season given the trials and tribulations of the Japanese driver and those before him.
But after a string of difficult weekends, Tsunoda reached Q3 and qualified seventh on the grid for the Belgian GP, with Tsunoda no doubt comforted by being reunited with his former team boss.
“It was funny because, when I was VCARB [now Racing Bulls], I’d always be in Q3,” Tsunoda told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying. “He’d always smile at me, and I was watching him. He showed me that happy emotion.
“Exactly the same thing has happened today, as well. He smiled at me, and he showed me that I did a good job. Those things were definitely a nice flashback from old times.”
The feel-good factor may not have extended into the race on Sunday, but at least Mekies took some of the flames away from Tsunoda and apologised for a strategic error that ultimately cost his driver points.
“For Yuki, it was our mistake,” Mekies told media post-race. “We wanted to pit him on the same lap as Max, and everything was ready, the crew was out, everything was ready to get both cars, and we simply called him too late.
“So it’s on us, unfortunately, and one lap made a big difference today, so he lost, I think, three or four positions, which ultimately stopped his fight for the points.”
It was clear, however, that there was seemingly more of an arm of appreciation around Tsunoda over the weekend rather than the typical bashing that usually comes from the Dr Helmut Marko corner of the organisation. While the Austrian did pass comment, Mekies’ words of encouragement show a marked shift in communication from Red Bull’s hierarchy that could promote growth in the second seat.
“He did a very strong qualifying yesterday,” Mekies added, speaking to F1TV. “We upgraded the car just before qualifying but it’s so difficult to adapt with new conditions in a qualifying session like that. He did a very, very strong job, so I’m very happy for him.
“Today he had the right pace as well and he was certainly up for some good points, but that’s how it went. So we take the good step forward this weekend and hopefully we carry on in Budapest.”
There was never going to be wholesale changes to Red Bull‘s F1 operation in just one weekend of Mekies being in charge, but there are absolutely glimpses of what will be a new management method for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Whether that will be the catalyst for a return to the top with both cars remains to be seen, but given the turmoil of the past 18 months, at least harmony began to ring out on the airwaves on weekend number one.
