Max Verstappen, according to Team Principal Mekies: “We know what he wants from us”

As we all know, figures don’t lie (even if they don’t always reveal the whole truth), and a glance at the 2026 World Championship standings shows that Mercedes leads the Constructors’ Championship with 262 points, ahead of Ferrari on 190 and McLaren on 141. Red Bull Racing follows in fourth place; their tally of 89 points is sobering.

Laurent Mekies doesn’t beat about the bush in Styria. The 49-year-old Frenchman says: “Of course, we’re not where we want to be. If we want to be in the running for Grand Prix victories again, we need to be four-tenths of a second faster per lap.”

RBR superstar Max Verstappen put it this way: “We’ve halved the gap to the front since the start of the season. The tricky bit is the other half. Because to catch up, we need to develop more efficiently than our rivals.”

Laurent Mekies continued: “We don’t have a single, specific problem; rather, there’s a bit missing here and there – on the engine side as well as with the chassis. We’re not good enough in fast corners, nor in medium-speed ones, and we lack speed on the straights.”

Red Bull Racing has brought many new parts to Austria: differently shaped sidepod inlets, resulting in a modified engine cover, a new underbody, a more aerodynamic rear suspension cover, a different rear wing support and a new exhaust.

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Hadjar was initially absent from the first practice session, whilst Verstappen’s car had to be brought back to the pits. Mekies commented: “We’d identified a problem with Isack’s car and had to change the engine, which is why Hadjar didn’t get out on track until half an hour later.”

“With Max, we identified a software issue, but that was sorted out quickly; after that, it was a case of doing our homework. As for all the improvements, it’s still a bit early to get the full picture. We need more data. We’re now taking it step by step in the second practice session, and tomorrow in the third. The Evo package is significant; we’ll have a better idea on Saturday of what it all brings to the track.”

“How the rest of our season unfolds will largely depend on how this package performs and what else is added to the car. We’ve seen major updates from many teams; I think the steps will be smaller as the season progresses.”

Another area of focus at Red Bull Racing: the future of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has a contract with RBR until the end of 2028. The four-time champion has always said that he feels at home in the team and wants to stay. For the 28-year-old, loyalty is not just an empty word. However, he has also said that he finds the current Formula 1 rather uninspiring.

Laurent Mekies at the Red Bull Ring: “It’s quite simple, and it hasn’t changed – Max wants a fast car, and we’re working day and night to give him a better race car. It’s not the gossip in the paddock that matters, but what happens on the track. We firmly believe that the new Evo package will give Max a better chance of competing for the top spots.”

“Max is familiar with all our internal processes. He knows exactly how difficult it is to make up a second’s deficit; that was our shortcoming at the start of the season. With the Miami package, we’ve halved that deficit. Now we’re working on the other half.”