Verstappen urges Red Bull
2026 risks being the first season in which the Max Verstappen-Red Bull package comes up empty in terms of wins. In the first half of the championship, the Dutch superstar showed a lot of impatience towards the new cars, judged as “Formula E on steroids“; then his attention focused on Red Bull’s difficulties, which started the technical cycle as the fourth force, behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.
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Several times the four-time world champion has urged the team, even at the risk of media clashes (like at Silverstone). The team certainly listens to him, first because Verstappen is an invaluable asset of Red Bull and then because Super Max has the ability to ignite the driver market with a single phrase. Sharing his winning mentality is an unavoidable prerequisite, and team principal Laurent Mekies knows this well: for the Frenchman, Verstappen’s recent podiums (three in the last four GPs) must not satisfy Red Bull.
Mekies’ words
“Our only goal is to win races. We are not satisfied and will not be until we have a car capable of winning on merit again“, these are the Frenchman’s words.
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“I must take the opportunity to congratulate our team, those who work on chassis and engine, because managing to recover from an initial gap of 1.2 seconds to just three tenths at mid-season, with such a high level of competition, is a great job“, he added. “We know why we were behind, considering the 2025 comeback and the issues with the power unit, but our 2,000 people have worked to contribute more in every single sector, thanks to updates but also thanks to the work behind the scenes“.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull is fourth with 177 points, less than half of Mercedes and 130 points behind Ferrari. The standings reflect the difficulties encountered by the Milton Keynes team, which however already showed in 2025 that it knows how to react very well to crises. Also thanks to the “hammer” Verstappen.
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