Laurent Mekies may just have made his first mistake at Red Bull and it could hurt Max Verstappen in 2026

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Laurent Mekies oversaw his first race victory as Red Bull team principal at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen took a win that was reminiscent of their dominance in 2022 and ’23.

The Dutchman had already given Mekies a perfect start by winning the Belgium Sprint race. The Hungary weekend was a disaster as Verstappen finished a season-low P9, but he was back on the podium at Zandvoort.

Now Mekies can tick off the first pole position and Grand Prix win of his tenure. While he’s shunned any credit, the atmosphere in the team appears much more positive.

It’s difficult for a team boss to make an immediate impact in the middle of a season, but Mekies has changed Red Bull’s methods, placing greater weight on driver feedback. And the early results suggest this may have been a wise move.

Red Bull are acting like 2026 ‘doesn’t exist’ with their upgrades

Verstappen’s victory at Monza was Red Bull’s first since their last visit to Italy for the Emilia Romagna GP. A succession of upgrades allowed him to end their eight-race drought.

At a time when most, if not all of their rivals, have suspended 2025 development, Red Bull have continued to aggressively pursue lap time. As Michael Schmidt pointed out on the Formel Schmidt podcast, there have been updates at several consecutive races, most recently a new floor.

“The Red Bull has certainly also improved,” Schmidt said. “They’ve had something new on the car in every race for the last four or five races. So it’s as if 2026 doesn’t exist.

“A new underbody this time. They’ve changed the front wing again. A lot has been done in that area in particular. The Red Bull has become a bit more stable and predictable.”

But this might be Mekies’ first mistake. Verstappen’s win on Sunday was a morale boost, and there might be more to come before the end of the season, particularly on tracks where McLaren’s tyre-wear advantage is negated.

This could be enough to gain Red Bull a place or two in the constructors’ – they’re now only 21 points behind Mercedes – but it won’t catapult Verstappen into the title fight. Oscar Piastri remains nearly 100 ahead.

On that basis, it’s worth asking if there’s any real benefit to persisting with the RB21, especially when it could come at the cost of next year’s car.

The Christian Horner comment that should have been a warning to Laurent Mekies

Red Bull are already entering 2026 in the unfamiliar role of underdogs. They’re building their own power unit for the first time.

Mekies’ predecessor Christian Horner said it would be ’embarrassing’ if Red Bull could compete with established manufacturers like Mercedes and Ferrari from the outset. And engines are likely to play an even bigger role in determining the pecking order.

The 2026 F1 cars will be completely different to their predecessors in terms of aerodynamics too, so it’s not as if much of Red Bull’s ongoing development will carry over. Mekies should have accepted short-term pain and transferred all of the team’s resources to next year immediately.

If their engine is at a deficit, Red Bull need to capitalise on every possible opportunity to make gains elsewhere. They should have been the first front-runner to prioritise 2026, but it looks like they’re the last.