Weeks after the firing of team principal Christian Horner, Red Bull is still dealing with his departure within the team.

A new Red Bull era begins under Mekies at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. He was appointed after 18 months at Racing Bulls. He worked at Ferrari for five years, as deputy team principal and racing director, and at the F.I.A., which governs Formula 1, for four years, initially as safety director and then deputy race director.

Red Bull Formula 1 chief engineer Paul Monaghan has admitted Christian Horner’s sacking was a “shock”, and acknowledged boosting the squad's fortunes would be tough for new CEO Laurent Mekies.

French engineer Mekies, previously team principal at Red Bull ’s sister F1 team Racing Bulls, has taken over from Horner and is at the helm this weekend for the Belgian Grand Prix. Mekies previously enjoyed a near-decade stint at Toro Rosso, the old name for Red Bull’s sister team, and also has experience to his name at Ferrari and the FIA.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will be in "in the s**t" if Christian Horner returned to the sport with the FIA.

Laurent Mekies spoke to the worlds media on Friday for the first time since replacing Christian Horner as Red Bull team principal and chief executive; watch the Belgian GP Sprint on Saturday from 11am,

Now at Ferrari, Hamilton recalled when he first met Horner at Red Bull and acknowledged the “remarkable” job he did at the team. “It doesn’t change anything in my life,”