Red Bull extend F1 boss Mekies contract to 2031

Red Bull have locked in team principal Laurent Mekies until the end of 2031.

The deal secures the Frenchman’s long-term future at the top of the Formula 1 team, just over a year after he took the job. Red Bull confirmed the extension on 14 October, according to BBC Sport.

Mekies replaced Christian Horner in the summer of 2025 after Horner was sacked. Horner had run the team for 20 years, turning Red Bull from a newcomer into a multiple championship winner. Mekies stepped up from Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls, where he had been team principal, as reported by Reuters.

The timing matters. Less than two months earlier, Max Verstappen extended his own Red Bull contract by two years to the end of 2030. Verstappen is the team’s four-time world champion and the driver around whom the whole project is built.

That pairing now looks settled for the next era of the rules. Formula 1 is heading into major regulation changes on chassis and power units, and teams prize continuity when the rulebook is rewritten. Mekies passed the one-year mark in charge this summer, and had said in June that Verstappen wants to stay but needs a fast car, according to Reuters.

For general fans: the team principal is the boss who runs the race team, from strategy calls to hiring and car development. Mekies, an engineer by background, took over a team built in Horner’s image and was tasked with steadying it while keeping Verstappen on board.

The extension also carries the backing of the top of the company. Red Bull’s two main shareholders are Chalerm Yoovidhya and Mark Mateschitz, while Oliver Mintzlaff oversees the F1 programme as chief executive of corporate projects and investments.

What makes this stand out is the sequence. First Verstappen to 2030, now Mekies to 2031. Red Bull have answered the two biggest questions about their future in the space of a few weeks.