Max Verstappen’s father hails Laurent Mekies for improving Red Bull team morale. Jos Verstappen praises Laurent Mekies.

Jos Verstappen praises Mekies’ turnaround: “Now everyone is smiling in the team”

Max Verstappen’s father has been impressed by how quickly French manager Laurent Mekies has made a positive impact at Red Bull.

Mekies at Red Bull and the team takes off

Over the last four Grands Prix, Max Verstappen has collected two wins and two second-place finishes on technically very different circuits. The Dutch driver remains far from the top of the Drivers’ Championship (-63 points), but the recovery between the Netherlands and Singapore amounted to 34 points — not insignificant, even if still not enough to put Verstappen fully in contention for the title.

Jos Verstappen approves

Jos Verstappen has expressed strong appreciation for the new direction under Laurent Mekies, which began last July and is already delivering positive results: “We are doing very well. They found something at Monza, and it was also visible in Baku. Let’s see how it goes in the next races,” he told the Dutch media outlet Racexpress.

The father of Max added: “The atmosphere in the team is now very good; it’s nice to see. The results are helping, but they have started to smile again. It’s great to see such a turnaround, how Laurent Mekies quickly found the right balance. He is also cheerful and approachable.”

Jos Verstappen also commented on his son’s championship chances: “He will do his best and try to score as many points as possible. But many things will have to happen — we’ll see what unfolds.”