The innovative management of Laurent Mekies has brought cohesion, confidence, and results back to Red Bull, relaunching the team in the title fight despite a season marked by tensions and technical difficulties.
“Close to perfection”
“Close to perfection,” was Laurent Mekies’ comment on Red Bull’s weekend performance. Perhaps this adjective could also describe his approach to managing a team that, just a few months ago, seemed destined to finish the season as the fourth force on the grid, far from the top three.
Since the influential presence of Christian Horner stepped aside in Milton Keynes, welcoming a young and idea-driven team principal, Red Bull has rebounded impressively, winning four races since September alone—more than McLaren, which still fields one of the fastest cars on the grid.
Yet, despite McLaren’s excellent work, Red Bull finds itself two races from the end chasing a fifth World Championship with Max Verstappen, which would etch the team’s name in the history books. The strategy implemented by Laurent Mekies, fully aligned with Red Bull’s philosophy, is paying dividends.
Red Bull and Laurent Mekies’ winning strategy
With a driver of Max Verstappen’s caliber at his disposal, the French engineer went all in on his lead driver, fittingly for a Las Vegas context. Of course, the simulator is important, but Laurent Mekies, formerly at Ferrari, has always emphasized the importance of Max’s feedback in interviews. After all, how else could the dramatic performance differences between Friday and Saturday be explained?
This strategy has enabled a team that lost key figures over the past two years to fight for a World Championship even against a technically dominant rival. It should be noted that the RB21, although not performing at the highest level earlier in the season, can now be considered nearly on par with McLaren, if not better on certain atypical circuits.
Moreover, what perhaps distinguishes Red Bull the most is that the engineers in Milton Keynes have never stopped believing in the RB21 project, constantly introducing innovations—even at the cost of reducing the 2026 car budget and risking playing catch-up from the start. This philosophy has allowed a “young” team to achieve so much in so few years.
Even Helmut Marko, known for his uncompromising statements, praised the young engineer’s work, signaling that the team is on the right path. The Austrian specifically highlighted Laurent Mekies’ excellent communication skills, which have motivated an entire team that, after a disappointing weekend in Budapest, needed a jolt to return to form.
Has Red Bull regained the identity that made it a model in the paddock?
For some time, the atmosphere around Milton Keynes had not been this positive. A long trail of negativity—internal tensions, lost key figures, and unstable leadership—seemed to have left deep scars, difficult to heal in the short term. Yet, just when many believed Red Bull was in decline, Laurent Mekies’ fresh and incisive management brought cohesion and, above all, results.
The team has regained the technical and human identity that made it a model in the paddock: a structure with the courage to take risks, evolve, and transform challenges into motivation to push even further. Today, with two races to go, Red Bull is not merely back in contention—it has regained belief in itself. Could this renewed confidence make all the difference in the final stretch?
Two races left. Don’t bet against the team that suddenly looks like the old Red Bull again.
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