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.

Horner has been replaced as team principal by 48-year-old French engineer Laurent Mekies, whose technical expertise means a ‘different direction’ looks inevitable for Max Verstappen’s outfit