Mekies rewarded with new deal through 2031
"He certainly has the technical understanding"
Laurent Mekies has been handed a long-term Red Bull contract through 2031 after overseeing the team’s recent return to winning form.
Shareholder Mark Mateschitz announced the extension during a team debrief at Milton Keynes following Max Verstappen’s back-to-back victories in Malaysia and Singapore.
"This extension reflects our confidence in his leadership and our shared belief in the long-term vision of the team," he said.
Oliver Mintzlaff had already praised Mekies heavily in Singapore, before the new deal became public.
"We knew, of course, that he had done a great job at Racing Bulls, that he was a good leader," he told Sky Deutschland.
"He certainly has the technical understanding."
Mintzlaff also highlighted Mekies’ ability to rebuild unity after Christian Horner’s departure.
"He is someone who can empower people, who leads people, who can unite them behind him," he continued.
"It was important to us, after we completed the change, that we become a cohesive unit again."
He added that Red Bull wanted to move away from having one person responsible for virtually every part of the organisation.
"Formula 1 is getting bigger and bigger," he said. "We didn’t really like the idea of someone being responsible for everything, the commercial area and the racing area."