Laurent Mekies acknowledged that it is not always easy to work with a driver of Max Verstappen’s caliber, whose extraordinary technical qualities regularly highlight problems that the team is not yet able to explain.
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After failing to secure a fifth consecutive world crown in 2025 by just two points, Verstappen is going through a much more complicated 2026 season.
Red Bull has still not won a single Grand Prix and the Dutchman keeps pointing out the limits of the RB26.
Questioning
Asked by AUTOhebdo about Verstappen’s influence during technical meetings, Laurent Mekies did not hold back praise for him: “Max plays a huge role in the team. He not only has speed but also a technical understanding that we sometimes fail to perceive ourselves.”
The Frenchman explains that Verstappen’s remarks regularly force engineers to deepen their analyses: “It pushes us to implement new analysis methods, new sensors, and new ways to exploit data. Sometimes it takes us six months to understand what Max had felt before moving on to the next problem.”
According to Mekies, this exceptional sensitivity is a major asset for the car’s development: “Having a driver with such fine driving skills, combined with his speed, allows us to make incredible progress.”
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The Red Bull boss nevertheless acknowledges that this quality can also become a source of frustration: “It’s not always easy, because when you are aware of all this potential, you also constantly realize that there are performances we are unable to exploit. It can sometimes be frustrating, but it’s a role that Max fully fulfills.”
Mekies also praises Hadjar’s progress
In the same interview, Laurent Mekies was also very complimentary towards Isack Hadjar, who had a convincing first season at Red Bull.
The Frenchman believes his young driver still has a significant margin for improvement: “He still has a lot of potential. And I hope to be able to say exactly the same thing in a year. Since the start of the season, every time he gets in the car, he improves.”
The Red Bull team principal also highlights the Frenchman’s ability to adapt to sometimes very difficult conditions: “There are two important things. First, he improves every time he takes the wheel. Then, he performs when the car is very difficult to drive, but also when it is a bit less so.”
These remarks confirm the growing confidence Red Bull has in Isack Hadjar, whose performances have regularly been praised since the start of the season and who now appears as the most convincing teammate of Max Verstappen in several years.
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