New Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies said it felt “a bit unreal” to replace Christian Horner and has emphasised the challenge facing him and the team going forward.

Horner’s abrupt sacking on Wednesday after 20 years in the job brought to an end one of the most successful stints any team boss has ever had in the sport.

Mekies has been elevated from the company’s junior team, Racing Bulls, just 18 months after joining from Ferrari as team principal.

“The first thoughts are for Christian,” Mekies said during a filming day at Silverstone this week. “It still feels a bit unreal to be here and not to see him. It would be impossible to underestimate the size of the achievement that this team has had under 20 years of Christian’s leadership.

“I met him 20 years ago when he was the youngest team principal in Formula 1. It’s unbelievable to see how he has turned this place to the level at which it is now, and in that journey, the many, many titles and wins.”

Mekies joins Red Bull at a fascinating time.

The future of four-time world champion Max Verstappen will dominate his early weeks and months in the job, with clauses in the Dutchman’s contract allowing him to leave before 2028 if he’s lower than third in the championship come the summer break.

While that now seems less likely with two races left, the prospect of Verstappen leaving — either for 2026 or 2027 — seems a very real one.

Red Bull is also unsure what the longer term future holds on track.

A major aerodynamic and engine change is coming into force next season, with Red Bull dropping its Honda partnership in favour of building its own engines from its factory in Milton Keynes, an unprecedented moment in its history.

The team has been quick to downplay expectations about how competitive they will be in 2026.

Mekies hinted at a difficult road ahead.

“The focus will really be at making sure that all the talented people here have what they need to perform at their best, because they are already the very best. We’ll be focusing on that, focusing on making sure that the Red Bull energy is flowing through the team,” he said.

“Together with that, we are not underestimating the challenge ahead. Formula 1 is going to face probably the biggest challenge of regulation in its history, and it has a very particular taste for Red Bull as we go with our own power units. It’s going to be an incredible challenge, and we will need everyone to go about it all together.”

In terms of what his own approach to his first weeks on the job will be, Mekies said: “You want to discover the magic, you want to meet the guys and the girls that are doing the magic behind the scenes.

“That’s what the next few weeks will be dedicated to try to meet as many of our people as possible, to listen to them, to try to understand this beautiful magic machine that is Red Bull Formula 1 and eventually find ways to contribute and to support.”