Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri and drove “15 qualifying laps” to win the Formula 1 sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday as Red Bull begins a new era without fired team principal Christian Horner.

Formula One is famous for making lots of noise, but the silence at Red Bull on Friday was frankly deafening. After the day of the long knives a fortnight ago – comprising the bombshell dismissal of team principal Christian Horner after 20 years and 405 consecutive races in charge,

In his first public appearance since being appointed as the new team principal of Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies outlined his first impressions of the squad.

New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies stressed that four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen is "central" to the project of bringing the team back to the top. "Max is central to the project and he's key to the project and we need his magic at the racetrack.

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.

In a moment of profound transition for Red Bull Racing, newly appointed Team Principal and CEO Laurent Mekies has addressed the elephant in the paddock: stepping into the shoes of Christian Horner, one of Formula 1's most iconic team bosses of the modern era.