Laurent Mekies is now struggling to deal with a behind-the-scenes change at Red Bull this season

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Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is now understood to be struggling to manage the change in mood at the factory, stemming from a poor start to the 2026 F1 season.

The Milton Keynes natives have endured their worst start to a season since 2015, when they only earned 13 points from the first three rounds. Red Bull currently boast only 16 points for sixth place in the 2026 constructors’ championship after races in Australia, China and Japan.

Haas and Alpine both rank above Red Bull in the initial 2026 F1 constructors’ standings, with the American squad sitting on 18 points for P4 and the Renault-owned outfit P5 as they have a superior race finish. Pierre Gasly finished P6 in China and also came P7 in Japan for Alpine.

Max Verstappen secured Red Bull’s best result so far in the 2026 season with P6 in Australia, but he only took P8 in Japan. Isack Hadjar also finished P8 in China to take his best result as a Red Bull driver after moving up from their sister team Racing Bulls to replace Yuki Tsunoda.

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Laurent Mekies is ‘struggling’ to manage Red Bull’s ‘profound identity crisis’ in 2026

Red Bull’s early-season woe is in stark contrast to what they have come to expect, especially after Mekies turned their fortunes around after replacing Christian Horner last July. Red Bull finished 2025, and the end of F1’s ground-effect era, with the quickest car in the entire field.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies

Regressing from seeing Verstappen end 2025 with six wins and 10 consecutive podiums has also seen the mood at Red Bull’s factory change. That is according to FormulaTecnica, which reports that Red Bull are now having a ‘profound internal identity crisis’ so early in the year.

Additionally, Mekies is believed to be ‘struggling to manage’ how the mood has changed at Red Bull’s factory for the worse this year. The problem stems from the RB22 not being good enough, and Verstappen called Red Bull’s car “undriveable” after he qualified P11 in Japan.

Isack Hadjar admitted at the Japanese Grand Prix that the mood at Red Bull is ‘not good’

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Hadjar also admitted in Japan that the mood at Red Bull is “not good” after their inadequate start to the year. The 21-year-old finished P12 at Suzuka, after which he also noted that he is hopeful that Red Bull will have updates to improve the RB22 at the Miami Grand Prix in May.

“It’s not good,” Hadjar told the F1 website in Japan. “But everyone has got their heads down to understand what’s going on. Hopefully, the next version of the car really makes an effect.”

Red Bull are already discussing abandoning the RB22, as the squad are now said to have lost trust in the car’s potential after the first three races. Also, it is said that Red Bull do not have the money to improve the RB22 without it then compromising the budget for their 2027 car.

Mekies must decide whether he wants Red Bull to invest in upgrades for the RB22, ditch the car and start again with a B-spec version or write the first year of the 2026 F1 regulations off and start fresh in 2027. Whatever Mekies decides will also further test the mood at Red Bull.