Red Bull management didn’t tell me why they replaced Horner – Mekies

Red Bull’s new team principal Laurent Mekies admitted the team’s management did not tell him why they chose to replace Christian Horner.

The team announced two weeks ago it had parted ways with Horner, who ran Red Bull since it came into Formula 1 20 years ago. However Mekies was not informed of their reason for parting ways with him.

“We didn’t get into ‘the why’ now,” he said in today’s FIA press conference at Spa-Francorchamps, “but they outlined the sort of objectives they had for the team moving forward.”

Mekies learned of the decision from Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff and motorsport consultant Helmut Marko shortly before it was communicated to the media. “I got a call a few hours before you guys were made aware,” he said. “They asked me if I would be interested in doing the job.”

He revealed he did not immediately accept the job offer. “Obviously, it came out of the blue at that moment for me,” he explained. “I was actually in the UK at Racing Bulls and it came in a completely unexpected way.”

“I actually asked them to [let me] think about it for a few hours and hung up the phone,” said Mekies. “It’s difficult to digest.

“But the first thing that comes into your mind is, ‘wait a second, it’s Red Bull, they are calling you’. They ask you to step in to do that job, with everything that Red Bull means – its energy, its spirit, how they go about their racing teams and that’s how you pick up the phone and you say, ‘of course, it’s an honour. It’s a privilege.’”

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Mekies, who has previously worked for Ferrari and the FIA among others, said he was grateful to Horner for his assistance in bringing him back to Red Bull.

“He has been nothing other than extremely supportive with me these last two years. It’s not a secret that he’s the one with Oliver and Helmut that brought me back to the Red Bull family a couple of years ago. So that’s the mix of emotions you get at that moment.

“But as I said, the dominant one is: it’s Red Bull calling. It’s a matter of loyalty to go towards the brand and you just say, ‘of course, if you think you need me there, I will go there.’”

Horner and Mekies have spoken since the news was announced, he said. “He was the first one to text, he was the first one to call. I think again this morning or yesterday we texted again.

“He has been nothing else than supportive, which is very impressive in the context. Nobody is going to replace his character. Nobody is going to replace him like-for-like.

“I come in to do the CEO and team principal job. Is there any way one can do it in the same way as Christian? No. Or at least, certainly not me. But we’ll be relying on the incredible strengths that there are in this team.”

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• Red Bull management didn’t tell me why they replaced Horner – Mekies
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