RacingDespite Max Verstappen sitting only ninth in the standings and Red Bull sixth after three races, Laurent Mekies says there is no debate about Verstappen’s future if Red Bull gives him a fast car. The Red Bull team principal laid out the plan and the tone on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, as the Milton Keynes team tries to haul itself out of a midfield start to 2026.
“We are thinking about getting a fast car, and if we get a fast car, there is no discussion about what Max is doing next year… we don’t think about the driver market for ’27,” Mekies, Red Bull team principal, said on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, adding, “You need to come to Milton Keynes to see the fire behind every door.”
The numbers show how far they have to climb. After three Grands Prix, Verstappen has 12 points in ninth, 60 behind early leader Kimi Antonelli. Red Bull is sixth in the constructors’ on 16 points, level with Alpine, a stark contrast to its 2025 title fight with McLaren.
Mekies also backed tweaks to the new rules to push drivers back toward flat-out laps. “I have full confidence that as a sport, we have the tools to tweak the regulations, so they are coming back to flat-out qualifying, whilst keeping all of the positive aspects that we are seeing from the racing,” he said on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, and added, “if we do that, I have every confidence that Max will see what we all see.”
Helmut Marko pointed to development missteps as part of the early slump. “Updates, especially those in Japan, have steered the car in the wrong direction. It has deteriorated,” the former Red Bull advisor told APA. He predicted a rebound, saying, “In the course of the European season one can assume that Red Bull will be back at the front,” and noted, “De Max-factor is er alleen als hij een auto heeft waarin hij vertrouwen heeft. Dat is momenteel niet het geval.”
The team is wrestling with a new power unit and an all-new chassis under the 2026 regulations. Mekies said Red Bull chose in 2025 to keep developing the RB21 for Verstappen’s title push against McLaren, a choice the team is now paying for as it seeks rapid gains and aims to out-develop rivals.
For Mekies, the path is clear. Deliver performance, keep the driver. He framed the task around speed and regulatory fine-tuning, reiterating on Beyond the Grid that if the sport brings back flat-out qualifying and Red Bull finds the pace it lacked in the opening flyaways, Verstappen will “see what we all see.”