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The Formula 1 paddock is reportedly questioning Laurent Mekies’ handling of a ‘political’ issue that Christian Horner would have mastered.
Back in July 2025, the F1 world was stunned by the news that Red Bull had sacked Horner after 20 years at the helm.
The Englishman led the team to multiple titles and had worked with championship-winning drivers such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
Following Horner’s dismissal, Mekies was promoted from Visa Cash App Racing Bulls and has led the team ever since.
In 2026, one of the major talking points has been the new ADUO system that was brought in, which allows teams to upgrade their engine.
Although many expected Mercedes to be denied ADUO, it was deemed that Red Bull have developed the best engine on the grid.
What are your thoughts on Mercedes being granted an engine upgrade through ADUO despite their 2026 dominance?
F1 paddock insiders ‘questioning’ Laurent Mekies’ handling of ADUO situation
While Red Bull continue to challenge the FIA’s decision, it has been claimed that Mekies’ handling of the situation has been questioned within the paddock.
According to Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf, ‘insiders’ within the paddock are ‘increasingly questioning’ whether Mekies and his team have managed the ADUO situation ‘wisely’.
It has been suggested that maybe Red Bull should have been involved in the ‘behind-the-scenes political’ game ‘sooner and more skillfully’.
The report went on to mention that the ‘political game’ is something Ferrari have been doing ‘for months’ and added that former senior heads like Horner and Helmut Marko knew how to play the game better than anyone else.
Following Red Bull’s request, the FIA have since looked at all the data collected again and after eight days of review, the decision remains the same: the Milton Keynes-based outfit will not be eligible for engine-related upgrades.
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In addition, it has been claimed that a meeting between FIA director Nikolas Tombazis and Red Bull bosses will take place during the British Grand Prix weekend.
The meeting between the two parties aims to run through all the data ‘step by step’ and explain how the ADUO decision was reached.
Next week, there is believed to be another meeting scheduled between the FIA and Red Bull, where more technical details will be discussed.
Although Red Bull are deemed to have the best power unit on the grid, other parts of the RB22 have meant that the full potential of the engine is yet to be fully realised.
As things stand, Red Bull are fourth in the world championship standings and are some way off rivals like McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
Verstappen did secure his best result of the 2026 season last week after finishing second in Austria; he will be looking to build on that momentum around the Silverstone Circuit this weekend.
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