Max Verstappen has already made clear how he feels about Red Bull ‘struggling’ in 2026

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Max Verstappen won’t be the Formula 1 world champion in 2026. That much is clear after Laurent Mekies’ warning to Red Bull fans at their Detroit launch.

Mekies has admitted that Red Bull, who are debuting their first-ever F1 power unit this season, will ‘struggle’ for the ‘first few months’ of the season, which likely rules Verstappen out of the title race.

“After everything we said, describing the challenge of starting from scratch and building from the ground up, going into the first year and the first race and thinking that [we’ll] be straightaway at the level of the competition, who have been doing this for 90 years, some of them, it would be naive,” Mekies said.

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“We are not naive. We know it’s going to come with a fair amount of struggle, a fair amount of headache and sleepless nights, but that’s exactly what we are here for.

“We have the confidence of having put together an amazing group of people, an amazing group of partners, and we’ll go through the struggle, we’ll eventually come out on top.

“Bear with us in the first few months, and I think these initial difficulties will be a good reminder of how much we went through to eventually get on top.”

Max Verstappen has already indicated that he will be patient with Red Bull

Verstappen has held talks with Mercedes and there have been suggestions that he could look to leave Red Bull if they struggle under the new regulations. His run of four consecutive titles came to an end last year as a staggering comeback from 104 points behind fell just short.

But the Dutchman has already taken the pressure off the team. In a recent interview with Blick, Verstappen said he ‘intends to fulfil’ his Red Bull contract, which runs until the end of 2028.

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He added that he’s ‘ruling out a team change’, which strongly suggests he will be patient with the new project, provided he has a chance of contending in 2027 or ’28.

Verstappen wants to finish his career with Red Bull after they built one of the most successful partnerships in F1 history. Only a dramatic and sustained loss of competitiveness could drive him out of the door.

The 2026 exit clause that Max Verstappen will not activate

Verstappen’s contract features exit clauses that are tied to his performance in the championship.

One of these stipulates that he can leave if he’s outside the top two in the standings halfway through the 2026 season. Based on Mekies’ comments, it’s very unlikely he’s that high up.

But Verstappen appears to have no intention of activating that clause, even if he’s entitled to do so. That will reassure the team from top to bottom ahead of their step into the unknown.

One wonders if Mekies always planned to use the launch, his most visible interview of the off-season, to play down expectations.

If they are off the pace at first, Verstappen and Red Bull will at least hope that their rivals take points off one another. The overwhelming consensus is that Mercedes have built the best power unit, potentially setting up a close battle with McLaren.