Laurent Mekies has explained what it takes to keep Max Verstappen at his team during his first race as Red Bull team boss. The answer is quite simple: make sure the reigning world champion gets a better car and the turmoil disappears from the team.
Last Thursday, Verstappen left the door open regarding his future during his press conference for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Limburger said he hoped “he could end his career at Red Bull”, but the confirmation that he would actually do so was not forthcoming. So there is still a consideration to leave, Mekies also sees.
Shortly after the last race at Silverstone, the Frenchman received an unexpected phone call from Red Bull top executive Oliver Mintzlaff: Christian Horner is no longer the team boss, whether he wanted to succeed him. The then team boss of Racing Bulls had to think about that briefly. “But I thought: wait a minute, this is Red Bull. So I quickly called back to say it would be an honor.”
Mekies said he found all sorts of positive things at Red Bull. But also a top driver, a linchpin around whom everything revolves within the formation and who does not know whether he wants to stay.
“Max wants a fast car,” Mekies simply summed up the situation. “If we give him that, I’m sure all other considerations will quickly go away. So that’s where the focus is: how can we take a new step towards more speed? Because then it becomes an easy decision for Max.”
Mekies is no stranger to Red Bull, as he previously worked for sister team Toro Rosso and, for this new position, led the same team under a new name. Yet he walked into the main entrance in Milton Keynes in a different way than usual. “You immediately see all those cups. How many they have won. Then you naturally feel honored.”
‘Nobody is leaning back’
Horner’s rather sudden departure was also the culmination of a drain that has been going on at Red Bull for some time, with the earlier departure of top technicians such as Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall and also team leader Jonathan Wheatley. It gives the impression that little is left of Red Bull, but that is not what Mekies saw.
“There is an extreme amount of talent. There is no department where people are leaning back. They are really at war in the good sense of the word and are extremely careful with every detail. I was impressed by that. We are going to try to give those people everything they need so that they can show their talent,” he was determined.
“And they have already shown that so many times: that they are the best in the world or are close to it. There is a lot of desire to get the energy back and make the turmoil disappear. We are going to do that together.”
Turmoil must disappear at Red Bull
Making the turmoil disappear is an important mission for Mekies, although with Horner’s departure the biggest job in that may already have been done. Since the allegations of sexually transgressive behavior against him in early 2024, Verstappen’s team has been in turmoil. Newey left partly because of this, and coincidence or not: the performances also deteriorated.
All of this has resulted in Horner’s departure. Mekies has the difficult task of getting all the noses, or the noses that are left, pointing in the same direction again. After the dust clouds from Horner’s departure have cleared, he feels the support.
“The first 24 hours was really adjusting, because everyone was surprised. That had to be processed for a while. But I feel a lot of desire in everyone. They just want to race. Everyone is respectful. I couldn’t wish for more support.”
Talking to Verstappen, but also to Horner
Mekies has mainly done that in his first two weeks: talking. With Verstappen, but also with Horner. “Christian was one of the first to make contact. I think that’s really strong given the circumstances.”
Mekies also realizes that he cannot simply replace Horner as a character within the team. “Nobody can do it his way either. But I trust in the enormous strength in this team. Red Bull has had two major success periods. The next depends on the new rules in 2026 and how we deal with them. Everything depends on how we start that.”
Hardcore fan with privileges
Yet the technician from Tours, France, also seemed a bit overwhelmed, after two weeks in which his life accelerated. But Mekies is above all a race fanatic, something he never loses sight of.
“And somehow I now get paid for that hobby. I still have a moment every weekend when I realize that I have the best seat to watch the race, on the pit wall. It is also important to keep that perspective. We live and die for the competition and are hardcore fans. Hardcore fans with privileges.”
That attitude suddenly gave him an even better seat in the pit lane. And he knows what he has to do on it: keep that other huge race fanatic from Red Bull on board.