The man steering Red Bull's future after fall of Horner

Laurent Mekies's technical skills mean a different direction for the team is all but inevitable, writes Kieran Jackson

- By Kieran Jackson

On a typically sodden media day at Spa-Francorchamps, a rip-roaring old-school racetrack nestled exquisitely in the vast hills and trees of the Ardennes Forest, a new era begins in earnest for Red Bull Racing. For the first time in two decades, Christian Horner is not a presence in the “Energy Station” motorhome on a race weekend.

On a typically sodden media day at Spa-Francorchamps, a rip-roaring old-school racetrack nestled exquisitely in the vast hills and trees of the Ardennes Forest, a new era begins in earnest for Red Bull Racing. For the first time in two decades, Christian Horner is not a presence in the “Energy Station” motorhome on a race weekend. The British executive's dismissal a fortnight ago, amid a divisive, chaotic and controversial 18 months, sent shockwaves up and down the paddock. F1 has not known Red Bull without Horner. He famously did not miss any of the team's 405 races and, as such, was present for all 14 world championships, 124 grand prix victories and 287 podiums. Quite the set of accolades, consigned now to a past epoch.

But the era of the team boss juggernaut - casting a dominant shadow over all facets of a racing team - is fading in Formula One. In fact, some years on from the feather-rufflers of Ron Dennis and Frank Williams, it is just Toto Wolff left in that one-dimensional role, as Mercedes CEO, team principal and shareholder.