SECOND F1 team principal change announced after Christian Horner sacking

Alan Permane and Flavio Briatore walk through the paddock at the Monaco Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

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SECOND F1 team principal change announced after Christian Horner sacking

Alan Permane has been announced as Racing Bulls' team principal

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 9 July 2025 19:54

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The new team principal of Racing Bulls has been announced, after Laurent Mekies made the step up to replace Christian Horner at Red Bull.

Horner was sacked after 20 years as team principal at Red Bull earlier on Wednesday, following a period of poor performance for the team.

F1 HEADLINES: Christian Horner SACKED as Red Bull exit causes major team principal reshuffle

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Having won four consecutive drivers' championship titles through Max Verstappen between 2021-2024 and claiming constructors' success in 2022 and 2023, Red Bull are out of contention for both titles after just 12 races of the 2025 season.

That caused the team to dismiss Horner, after he had led the outfit since their inception in the sport back in 2005.

Mekies has been announced to be replacing Horner for the rest of the season at Red Bull, but that leaves a position open at Racing Bulls, where Mekies has been team principal since 2024.

Laurent Mekies is replacing Christian Horner

Now, it's been revealed that Brit Alan Permane will be stepping up to replace Mekies, having been racing director at the Faenza-based outfit since the start of the 2024 season.

In an official statement, Permane said on his new opportunity: "I feel very honoured to take on the role as team principal and would like to thank Oliver and Helmut for the trust they have shown in me.

"I am looking forward to working with Peter [Bayer] to continue the good work that both him and Laurent have done in taking this team forward. This is a new challenge for me, but I know that I can count on the support of everyone within them."

Who is Alan Permane?

Permane started his career in motorsport in 1989 as a test electronics engineer for the Benetton F1 team.

The Brit then became race engineer with the same Enstone-based outfit in 1996, sticking with them as they became Renault and working closely with the likes of Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Permane was then promoted in 2007 to become chief race engineer, before then cementing himself as an Enstone legend by working his way up to the role of sporting director.

Permane was sporting director of the team that has most recently been known as Alpine between 2012-2023, but was released in July 2023 as part of a team member merrygoround at Alpine.

After a year out of F1, Permane became racing director at Visa Cash App RB, the team that would become Racing Bulls, and will now take over as their team principal in a season in which they sit seventh in the constructors' championship after 12 races.

F1 Red Bull Christian Horner Racing Bulls Laurent Mekies Alan Permane