Verstappen receives clarity from Red Bull: Here's where the focus now lies

22:07, 25 Jul

byCas van de Kleut

It's clear that Max Verstappen would like to see improvements in performance at Red Bull Racing. Over the past few years, other issues have often been the focus within the team, including an alleged power struggle in 2024 and the situation surrounding Horner-gate. Laurent Mekies has good news for the Dutchman.

After Helmut Marko indicated that the focus would be more on the racing team, the new team boss of Red Bull Racing was asked what plan he had outlined. Mekies responded: "It’s probably because of everything we’ve said earlier about trying to get to know the team, trying to understand the dynamics, trying to understand the strengths and the weaknesses, a bit early to talk about structure."

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Mekies did reveal: "But for sure, one thing that is very high in our priorities is to make sure that we have the right focus, that we avoid any bottlenecking in the company at all levels. It’s with that spirit that we look at what we need to do next. For sure, Formula 1 comes first. We have the chassis operation, the power unit operation. That’s what is going to be the main focus. It’s a racing team. People in the team love racing. That’s what they are here for. That’s going to be where the main focus is."

GPblog reported earlier that one of Verstappen's conditions for staying at Red Bull is that performance must improve. Mekies' comments confirm that this will be the primary focus.