Laurent Mekies says Max Verstappen’s deep, day-and-night focus on motorsport and strong technical feel give Red Bull an edge that goes far beyond race wins. The team principal points to Verstappen’s hands-on habits and clear voice inside the Milton Keynes base as proof of a driver who shapes the car and the team as much as he drives it on track.
Mekies has worked closely with Verstappen and highlights the scale of his commitment. He describes a driver who lives Formula 1 in detail, not only when the lights go out on Sunday. That approach stands out inside Red Bull and sets the tone for how the group attacks problems and finds speed.
Verstappen is fluent in the language of car behavior and team process. He understands how an F1 car generates performance and where lap time is hiding. In debriefs he gives disciplined, precise feedback that engineers can act on. Mekies says those sessions link the garage to the wider factory and turn driver feelings into clear development targets.
His work habits back that up. Verstappen spends regular time in the simulator and looks to race whenever he has room in his schedule. He studies data, tests ideas, and pushes to validate changes. Mekies says that mindset has helped Red Bull navigate new regulations and smooth out balance issues. The result is a development path that is steady and informed by repeatable evidence rather than guesswork.
The impact reaches beyond setup sheets. Mekies points to Verstappen’s ability to motivate the whole Milton Keynes operation. When the lead driver is engaged with the details, people across departments lean in. Mechanics, engineers, and factory staff see where the car is heading and why the plan matters. That shared focus lifts the pace of updates and the quality of execution at the track.
Mekies also sees leadership in how Verstappen rallies people. He stays calm in pressure moments, frames problems in simple terms, and keeps the message consistent from practice to race day. That steadiness helps align the team between events and during long development cycles. It also hints at a future beyond the cockpit.
According to Mekies, Verstappen’s mix of technical fluency, discipline, and people skills could carry into a senior role one day. He believes the same traits that power Verstappen’s driving would translate to the responsibilities of a team principal or another leadership post in motorsport. For Red Bull today, it means their star driver is also a force in shaping the car and the team around it.