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Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies used the Austrian Grand Prix Friday to deliver the clearest public statement yet on Max Verstappen‘s future at the team. Keep the four-time champion happy by building a car worth driving, and everything else takes care of itself.
Verstappen currently sits seventh in the 2026 Drivers‘ Championship with just a single podium from the first seven rounds of the season, 60 points adrift of second-placed Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull have brought a significant upgrade package to their home circuit this weekend, including a redesigned sidepod profile and a new floor, partly aimed at finally resolving the RB22’s weight problem.
The car began the year roughly 12 kilograms over the FIA’s 768-kilogram minimum limit – a guaranteed handicap that no amount of development could paper over. The Austria package is intended to eliminate the remaining six kilograms that persisted after a partial fix in Miami, which engineers believe will deliver around 0.18 seconds of mechanical improvement per lap on its own.
Mekies, who replaced the ousted Christian Horner as team principal, has been careful not to push Verstappen publicly on whether he intends to stay. The driver’s contract runs to 2028, but it contains performance-based exit clauses – including one that allows him to walk away from 2027 onwards if he sits outside the top two in the championship at the August summer break. Those conversations are happening, but Mekies is not rushing them.
Speaking between the two Friday practice sessions in Austria, Mekies was direct about where things stand:
“Max has clearly told us that he wants to continue with us. At the same time, it is also very clear that he needs a fast car to be happy in the team. You may also remember that he spoke up about the progress we needed to make regarding the regulations.
“We are in a fortunate position for the sport because there were very open discussions between the FIA, F1, and the teams, and we managed to make some fine adjustments to the 2027/2028 regulations. I think that’s great for Max, great for fast drivers, and great for the sport.
“So, as I said a few weeks ago, we don’t ask Max every week; he is working hard together with us, helping us find the right development directions for the car. Again this morning, he was carrying out very extensive test runs for the sessions, trying every possible route. So this is not an agenda item for us.
“Our agenda is to get the car back to where we want it to be. And you will probably agree that if the car gets back to where we want it to be, then there will be no discussion left anyway.”
That last line is the whole argument in one sentence. Verstappen’s continued presence at Red Bull isn’t primarily a contractual question, it’s an engineering one. The regulation changes Mekies referenced are real and formally adopted: the World Motor Sport Council signed off on June 23 on a phased change in the power split from the current near-equal balance toward 60/40 in favour of combustion by 2028, with an intermediate step in 2027. Fuel flow limits will increase accordingly, giving internal combustion engines more room to breathe and reducing the electrical dependency that Verstappen has publicly called “anti-racing.”
Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen has said the intention is for his client to finish his career at Red Bull, provided the opportunity to compete for wins is there. That’s a reasonable position from a driver who won four consecutive championships at this team. What’s less comfortable is that Red Bull cannot upgrade its power unit this year under the FIA’s ADUO assessment – a ruling the team has contested – while Mercedes and Ferrari are permitted to do so.
The car that arrives in Austria is already faster than the one that started 2026, but Mekies has admitted that the Austria package alone won’t put them in position to win races. The gap to the front remains somewhere between three and four tenths per lap.
The deadline for Verstappen to trigger his exit clause runs from August through to the Singapore Grand Prix. Whether that clause gets used or quietly buried depends on what the RB22 does between now and then.
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Verstappen currently sits seventh in the 2026 Drivers‘ Championship with just a single podium from the first seven rounds of the season, 60 points adrift of second-placed Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull have brought a significant upgrade package to their home circuit this weekend, including a redesigned sidepod profile and a new floor, partly aimed at finally resolving the RB22’s weight problem.
The car began the year roughly 12 kilograms over the FIA’s 768-kilogram minimum limit – a guaranteed handicap that no amount of development could paper over. The Austria package is intended to eliminate the remaining six kilograms that persisted after a partial fix in Miami, which engineers believe will deliver around 0.18 seconds of mechanical improvement per lap on its own.
Mekies, who replaced the ousted Christian Horner as team principal, has been careful not to push Verstappen publicly on whether he intends to stay. The driver’s contract runs to 2028, but it contains performance-based exit clauses – including one that allows him to walk away from 2027 onwards if he sits outside the top two in the championship at the August summer break. Those conversations are happening, but Mekies is not rushing them.
Mekies Isn’t Asking Verstappen Every Week
Speaking between the two Friday practice sessions in Austria, Mekies was direct about where things stand:
“Max has clearly told us that he wants to continue with us. At the same time, it is also very clear that he needs a fast car to be happy in the team. You may also remember that he spoke up about the progress we needed to make regarding the regulations.
“We are in a fortunate position for the sport because there were very open discussions between the FIA, F1, and the teams, and we managed to make some fine adjustments to the 2027/2028 regulations. I think that’s great for Max, great for fast drivers, and great for the sport.
“So, as I said a few weeks ago, we don’t ask Max every week; he is working hard together with us, helping us find the right development directions for the car. Again this morning, he was carrying out very extensive test runs for the sessions, trying every possible route. So this is not an agenda item for us.
“Our agenda is to get the car back to where we want it to be. And you will probably agree that if the car gets back to where we want it to be, then there will be no discussion left anyway.”
That last line is the whole argument in one sentence. Verstappen’s continued presence at Red Bull isn’t primarily a contractual question, it’s an engineering one. The regulation changes Mekies referenced are real and formally adopted: the World Motor Sport Council signed off on June 23 on a phased change in the power split from the current near-equal balance toward 60/40 in favour of combustion by 2028, with an intermediate step in 2027. Fuel flow limits will increase accordingly, giving internal combustion engines more room to breathe and reducing the electrical dependency that Verstappen has publicly called “anti-racing.”
Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen has said the intention is for his client to finish his career at Red Bull, provided the opportunity to compete for wins is there. That’s a reasonable position from a driver who won four consecutive championships at this team. What’s less comfortable is that Red Bull cannot upgrade its power unit this year under the FIA’s ADUO assessment – a ruling the team has contested – while Mercedes and Ferrari are permitted to do so.
The car that arrives in Austria is already faster than the one that started 2026, but Mekies has admitted that the Austria package alone won’t put them in position to win races. The gap to the front remains somewhere between three and four tenths per lap.
The deadline for Verstappen to trigger his exit clause runs from August through to the Singapore Grand Prix. Whether that clause gets used or quietly buried depends on what the RB22 does between now and then.
Continue reading...
