Helmut Marko Offers Insight Into Laurent Mekies Replacing Christian Horner

Red Bull’s long-serving leader Christian Horner stepped down on July 9, creating space for Laurent Mekies to step into the top job.



The Frenchman, who had previously led the Racing Bulls outfit, took over as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal.



Since assuming the role, Mekies has been quick to leave his mark, refining Friday strategies and ensuring Yuki Tsunoda’s car benefitted from upgrades, closing the gap to Max Verstappen’s machinery.



This shift has not gone unnoticed by Red Bull’s senior figures.



A New Approach to Fridays



Helmut Marko, the team’s motorsport adviser, highlighted Mekies’ changes in the way Red Bull approaches practice sessions.



“It’s mainly a different approach to practice. We’re trying things out and already pushing closer to the limit during practice,” Marko explained to Sky Germany.



“That allows us to find the car’s maximum earlier and ensures we’re not as far off in set-up direction compared to the past.”



The adjustment immediately produced results.



Verstappen secured pole position at Monza, while Tsunoda put in one of his strongest performances of the season, qualifying 10th and starting ninth following Lewis Hamilton’s grid penalty.



Strong Praise From Marko



Speaking again after qualifying, Marko underlined how much Mekies had influenced the team’s recent improvements.



“A big one. That approach comes directly from him,” Marko said.



“On a technical level, the communication has improved significantly, and that’s having a positive impact on the whole team. You can see it, for example, with Yuki — finishing P10. I honestly can’t even remember the last time he reached Q3. You can clearly feel the upward trend.”



Marko pointed to Friday’s sessions as a standout moment for the team.



“It was the best Friday we’ve had — I honestly can’t remember having such a good Friday in a long time,” he added.



Focus on Balance and Race Pace



Alongside the strategic shift, Red Bull introduced a new floor to Verstappen’s car, which the Dutchman immediately felt comfortable with.



Marko noted that the team worked step by step to fine-tune the car, identifying and addressing weaknesses in sector one.



The final set-up was a balance between low downforce for higher top speeds and enough grip to remain competitive over a race distance.



“We’ve got a new floor on the car, and Max felt comfortable right from the start,” Marko explained.



“Step by step, we fine-tuned the car. We were always close, but on Friday we were mainly losing time in sector 1. We’ve fixed that, and we also focused on setting up the car for the race. We went for a balance with relatively low downforce for the race — since our top speed wasn’t outstanding — but still enough downforce to fight for pole position. And Max executed that brilliantly. In the last sector, he delivered again and found another tenth — which, nowadays, is a huge advantage.”



Marko’s glowing assessment suggests Mekies’ leadership is already driving performance gains at Red Bull, signaling an important new chapter for the team.
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