Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Max Verstappen was 69 points off the world championship lead when Laurent Mekies took over from Christian Horner as Red Bull team principal last summer. By the time the chequered flag waved in Abu Dhabi, that gap was down to two.
In the constructors’ meanwhile, Red Bull were on course for a fourth-place finish – their worst for 10 years. But they ended up powering past Ferrari and finishing just 18 points behind runners-up Mercedes.
Fred Vasseur halted Ferrari’s 2025 development when he realised they weren’t going to win the championship. It was a decision that affected morale in the short term, but Vasseur hopes to see the benefits this year.
Prove me wrong: Red Bull replacing Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies was the best decision they made in 2025
By contrast, Mekies continued to push for upgrades, even though the largest rule changes in F1’s recent history were looming. Verstappen won six out of the 10 last Grands Prix but his sensational comeback attempt ultimately fell short.
Juan Pablo Montoya fears for Red Bull after aggressive 2025 development push
Speaking to AS Colombia, Juan Pablo Montoya warned that Red Bull would ‘pay’ for Mekies’ gamble this year. It’s another ‘question’ hanging over the team.
Red Bull are expecting to struggle at first under the new regulations because they’re making their debut as an engine supplier. They know they will need time to catch their established rivals.
After the Abu Dhabi GP, Mekies himself admitted that Red Bull’s late upgrades might ‘cost’ them, having previously expressed confidence that they wouldn’t lose ground.
What changes would you make to our F1 dream team?
“You know Mercedes are going to be close, Ferrari are going to be close,” Montoya said. “McLaren, with the structure they have, should be close, whether they’re going to be the fastest or not.
“One team I see as complicated is Red Bull. They did a very good job last year to finish the season strong. The question is, were they so good because they extended their development?
“In my opinion, when everyone else stopped developing, they kept going. The problem is when you keep going, you’re going to pay for it this year.”
Laurent Mekies says ‘nobody’ at Red Bull wanted to prioritise 2026
In an interview aired on the James Allen on F1 podcast, Mekies explained why Red Bull took the daring approach. His impression at the outset was that nobody at Milton Keynes wanted to abandon the RB21.
They still believed there was a slim chance of winning the title, even when Verstappen was ruling himself out of contention. Based on the Dutchman’s results after the summer break, they were arguably justified.
“What you find in the very first days, the very first weeks in the team is that nobody wanted to give up,” Mekies said. “That has nothing to do with me, this is the core spirit of that team.
“It would have been very, very easy for the ladies and the men in the team to say, ‘You know what, the car didn’t perform, the title is gone, there is 2026 coming.’
“It would have been very easy to turn the page, concentrate on the next car. Nobody wanted to do that.”
It should be noted that an early reallocation of resources isn’t a guarantee of success. One only needs to look at Williams, the first team to take their 2025 car out of the wind tunnel.
James Vowles’ squad confirmed on Friday that, despite the extra preparation time, they won’t be ready to take part in next week’s Barcelona shakedown.
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