"He’s bald within a week": Fans react to Christian Horner's replacement Laurent Mekies' first visit to Red Bull Racing

Laurent Mekies had his first day as team principal of the Red Bull squad after replacing Christian Horner at the helm of the team. As images from his first day appeared on the web, fans made hilarious comments on how the stressful environment and desire for success would affect the Frenchman in his new role at the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Horner's axing did not leave the Austrian giant with many options to fill in the void. As the parent company owns another F1 team, Racing Bulls' team principal Mekies was ultimately appointed to lead the Austrian squad in F1.

Under his leadership, the Racing Bulls outfit had steadily climbed the F1 ladder and brought in a string of solid results. This allowed the Red Bull hierarchy to trust him to take over Horner's duties. The Frenchman had his first day in the squad since earning his promotion a few days earlier.

Below are the images from the filming day at Silverstone as Mekies took hold of the team:

However, fans fired several warning shots at Mekies after becoming the incumbent team principal at Red Bull:

"He’s bald within a week." "Managing this team will be the biggest challenge of his life so far," one fan wrote. "Thrown in the deep," another fan wrote.

Meanwhile, other fans noted how Laurent Mekies has big shoes to fill as under Christian Horner's leadership, the team secured eight Drivers' and six Constructors' titles:

"Big responsibility ahead for Mekies," one netizen wrote. "Big shoes to fill, fresh start ahead," another netizen wrote. "Poor guy. Hope he survives long," a third netizen shared his worry.

Red Bull sits fourth in the Constructors' standings, behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

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Laurent Mekies talks about the challenge of spearheading a world-champion outfit like Red Bull

Laurent Mekies at the Red Bull Racing filming day at the Silverstone Circuit - Source: Getty

Red Bull is seemingly a former version of itself, owing to the mass exodus that took place in the past 12 months and the disappointing performance with its 2025 challenger. Moreover, Laurent Mekies would be aware of the tough hold the Milton Keynes-based squad has been facing.

Reflecting on the massive challenge to turn around the fortunes of the team with the 2026 regulations uncertainty lying on the horizon, the 48-year-old said, via Formula 1:

"Together with that, we are not underestimating the challenge ahead. Formula 1 is going to face probably the biggest change of regulation in its history [in 2026], and it has a very particular place for Red Bull as we go with our own power unit. "It’s going to be an incredible challenge, and everyone will go about it all together. I’m sure with adding everyone’s contributions as a team, we will tackle this challenge."

The first half of the 2025 season is over, and Mekies will oversee the Belgian Grand Prix as his debut race weekend as team principal for Red Bull.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam