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Laurent Mekies has revealed that an upcoming change in the Red Bull factory will take the team to a completely different level.
So far in the 2026 Formula 1 season, Red Bull have struggled to keep pace with rivals such as Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.
After three races, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have scored a combined total of 16 points, putting them tied with Alpine.
Aside from their on-track problems, things have gone wrong off the track too, with Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, confirmed to be moving to McLaren in 2028.
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Laurent Mekies says upcoming change will take Red Bull to a completely different level
Speaking recently to The Guardian, Red Bull team boss Mekies stated that the incoming new wind tunnel will take the Milton Keynes-based outfit to a completely different level.
The Frenchman also admitted that Red Bull’s decision to build their own power engine has put the team in an ‘incredible situation’.
Mekies said: “As much as it was a crazy decision, a crazy investment, now it put us into an incredible situation for the next five to 10 years.
“The power unit decision of four years ago that puts you in a position of being completely independent … for years to come, with the support of [engine partners] Ford.
“I was not involved in those decisions, just credit to the guys before. The fact that we have this wind tunnel coming some time next year also puts you at a completely different level.
“So it’s true that the opposition may have shot ahead compared to us in some respects but globally, in terms of the legs of the project, it put us into an incredible position.”
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Laurent Mekies says Red Bull’s new engine has ‘exceeded expectations’
Although there were fears that Red Bull could fall behind their rivals due to the unknown surrounding their power unit, Mekies has expressed his happiness over the RB22’s engine.
He also stated that although Red Bull are still some way off their rivals, they are in a place where they know how to gain that time back.
Mekies said: “It has clearly exceeded expectations. We were gearing up from a much further away starting point. It’s something that could have put the project at big risk for two or three years.
“But now the ghost of the power unit – is Oracle Red Bull Racing going to have a strong enough power unit for the years to come? – has disappeared.
“We have our own issues. We need to get these tenths back, we need to fix what we need to fix with the car. This, we know how to do. It’s going to happen, not in Miami, but it’s going to happen.”
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