Zak Brown thought Red Bull were ‘falling apart’ under Christian Horner before Laurent Mekies took over

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Zak Brown and McLaren have had to contend with a resurgent Red Bull in recent months. And the American puts their transformation down to new team boss Laurent Mekies.

When Mekies replaced Horner in July, Red Bull looked destined to finish fourth in the championship, and Max Verstappen was little more than a nuisance to the McLaren drivers in the title fight.

Three months later, Red Bull have an excellent chance of finishing second. And more importantly, Verstappen has roared back into contention with a run of three wins in four Grands Prix.

McLaren are already managing a delicate internal situation with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. And the growing presence of Verstappen has complicated that task further.

Zak Brown says Laurent Mekies has brought ‘peace’ back to Red Bull

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Brown said that Red Bull ‘seemed to be falling apart’ completely in Horner’s final months. There was chaos on one side of the garage, with three drivers (Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda) partnering Verstappen in the space of four races between December and April.

On the other, Jos Verstappen clashed with Horner, and there were even suggestions that the world champion threatened to walk away if there wasn’t a change of regime, though these have since been denied.

Under Mekies, the atmosphere at Red Bull has completely changed. The change is evident in not just the drivers, but also the engineers and mechanics.

• READ MORE: Zak Brown felt Christian Horner crossed a line with sneaky McLaren accusation he later retracted

Horner wanted to cut off RB21 development and focus on 2026. Mekies disagreed when he took over, and while his aggressive upgrade plan is risky, it could deliver an instant title.

“The arrival of the new team principal, Laurent Mekies, has caused quite a stir,” said Brown. “At least, that’s how it seems when I look at it from a distance.

“Red Bull seemed to be falling apart completely, but there seems to be peace again now. That’s less [good] news for us!”

Max Verstappen to Mercedes is off the F1 agenda, Zak Brown says

Brown also discussed the future of Verstappen, admitting that he expected the Dutchman to move to Mercedes in 2026. However, he committed to Red Bull just before the summer break and now the matter isn’t being ‘discussed at all’.

Verstappen has been tentatively linked with McLaren with a view to 2027. The American is happy with his current line-up, but says the current version of driver #1 may be the best ever.

“I’ve long thought Max would go to Mercedes after this season, but that’s not going to happen,” said Brown. “In fact, lately, Verstappen’s future hasn’t been discussed at all.

“That also says something about his and Red Bull’s performance and how good he’s feeling. Max seems to be in better shape than ever right now. So, of course, we’re taking him very seriously in the title fight. It would be very foolish not to.”