New Racing Bulls F1 team boss ‘shocked' after ‘amazing' promotion
The domino effect of Horner being relieved of his duties saw Laurent Mekies – formerly RB team principal – promoted to Red Bull F1 CEO. Permane, who was previously racing director at RB, is now the team boss.
The 58-year-old was previously with Alpine, in all its previous guises including championship-winning seasons with Benetton and Renault, for 34 years before being let go in July 2023. The engineer joined Racing Bulls at the start of last season.
'It's amazing that they feel I'm capable and have the potential to lead this team.
'I deeply thank the Red Bull Austria senior management, Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko, and of course Laurent for recommending me, pushing me forward, his belief in me as well. It's been a great week.'
Racing Bulls are currently seventh in the constructors' championship and have two young talents in Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the cockpit.
Yuki Tsunoda was previously with the team for four years before being promoted in March to replace Lawson, dropped by Red Bull after just two races.
'It's a great team and I know that the senior Red Bull guys are extremely happy with the way the team is being run,' Permane added. 'They're very happy with our competitiveness.
'The target is to be top of the midfield, and we are certainly in a battle for that and we'll continue that fight throughout this year.'
The next race of the 2025 season is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (25-27 July).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Carlos Sainz perplexed by Red Bull F1 call: ‘I don't understand why'
Carlos Sainz admits he 'did not understand' why Red Bull opted not to sign him for the 2025 F1 season amid rumoured tension between the Spaniard and Max Verstappen. Spanish driver Sainz was initially without a seat for this year after Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari, and eventually moved to Williams to partner Alex Albon. Yet both Mercedes and Red Bull – who had second driver Sergio Perez underperforming throughout the 2024 season – opted not to pursue Sainz. The 30-year-old was teammates with a 17-year-old Verstappen at Red Bull's sister team, Toro Rosso, in 2015 and the pair clashed as they both started on their F1 journey. Yet Sainz insisted their relationship is now cordial. 'The only thing I can say is I genuinely get on well with Max,' Sainz told The High Performance podcast. 'This is what people don't see from the outside. Like, we had a rivalry in our first year in Formula 1 in Toro Rosso, but it was a relatively healthy rivalry in terms of him and me, the way we used to go about racing. And now we get on really well. 'So, if that's the reason [Red Bull didn't sign me], I don't understand why they wouldn't want me next to Max, because I think we would actually be a very strong pairing in Formula 1.' Perez was dropped after the 2024 season for Liam Lawson, who lasted only two races this season before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Yet Tsunoda, in his fifth F1 season, has also struggled to perform as Verstappen's teammate – a continuing trend at Red Bull. 'I think everyone's having a really tough time being Max's teammate,' Sainz added. 'I can only say that when I was Max's teammate, I didn't have this tough time. 'I was obviously incredibly surprised with how quick he was, with how he's an insane driver. I mean, he's going to go out to be one of the best ever in history, if he's not already one. But that first year together, since then, has given me the confidence to know I can be up against anyone.' Sainz is currently 15th in the drivers' championship on 13 points, 33 points off teammate Alex Albon. The next race of the season is this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps with the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Leverkusen manager Erik ten Hag hits back at Granit Xhaka's agent over Sunderland transfer claims
Bayer Leverkusen manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that midfielder Granit Xhaka will not be able to join Sunderland this summer, with the Switzerland midfielder heavily linked with a move to the Premier League. The Black Cats had appeared to be closing in on a deal for the former Arsenal captain as they continue a spending spree that has exceeded £100m this summer, with the club keen to add top-flight experience to their squad as they look to beat the drop next season. But former Manchester United boss Ten Hag, who has already seen Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah depart since succeeding Xabi Alonso at the end of last season, is resisting the proposed move. The Dutchman told reporters: "The agent can say anything, but this club has sold three important players - and we won't sell any more players. That's not possible. "Granit is a leader. He signed for five years here and has three more years left. He's too important for us to let go." Leverkusen stand to earn up to £145m from the sales of Wirtz and Frimpong to Liverpool, though Jonathan Tah left on a free to join direct rivals Bayern Munich. The German club recently signed Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for £35m as a replacement for Tah, while Malik Tillman arrives from PSV Eindhoven for a similar fee to replace Wirtz. Xhaka, 32, won the FA Cup twice during a seven-year spell at Arsenal and has previously played for Basel and Borussia Monchengladbach. He left Arsenal for Leverkusen in 2023 and helped the German club to Bundesliga success in his first season. He made 49 appearances in all competitions - 10 of them in the Champions League - during the last campaign, but is said to be keen on a move to Sunderland, who were promoted to the top flight via the play-offs last season. The Black Cats are expected to continue to pursue a move for Xhaka, with more signings expected after the recent collapse of a move for Sassuolo striker Armand Lauriente.
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Really starting to see what Askou is trying to do'
We asked for your views on the 3-0 win over Morton which secured Motherwell's place in the Scottish League Cup second what some of you said:David: Good performance overall, 3-0 was about right to be fair. Struggled recently against Morton in the last couple of seasons, so it was well deserved. Morton manager Dougie Imrie was constantly on to the linesman and fourth official, which showed desperation at times. Most convincing win in the group against probably the most to be That was our best performance under Jens Berthel Askou. We dominated the game and got our rewards. Elliot Watt was superb and Tawanda Maswanhise with an early goal of the season contender. It's all coming along Really starting to see what Askou is trying to do playing out from the back and possession-based football. Just needs more of a cutting edge but that will come. Far cry from the pragmatic football under Stuart The standard of refereeing in the first half was deplorable. Morton should have had a stonewall penalty. These decisions can change games. The linesmen had clear view of the foul. I wasn't a fan of VAR, now I Some great possession play, with no cutting edge in the first half. Good to score three against our best opponents so far. Some outstanding performances, notably Longelo, Fadinger, Watt, ApStam, and Maswhinise. Some really good signs, still a couple of players light to complete the Great performance last night, a joy to watch and far better than we had witnessed in recent seasons, I still feel there is a lot more to come from the squad under the current style which is even more exciting to think about, still a few additions to come in to further enhance the squad, job done, won the group and into the last 16, roll on the new season!
