F1 News: Verstappen says team ‘needed’ people-person engineer Mekies
(GMM) Max Verstappen says the atmosphere at Red Bull has improved following Christian Horner’s departure, with new team boss Laurent Mekies (pictured) already making a positive impression during his first weekend in charge at Spa.
“The atmosphere is very good,” Verstappen told Dutch media, dismissing any tension surrounding the recent leadership change. The triple world champion is said to have pushed for greater freedom to exit Red Bull in 2027 – and sources believe the end of Horner’s reign cleared the path.
Mekies, unlike Horner, has a technical background, which Verstappen sees as a strength: “If someone is more technically savvy, then it’s normal that you can have more technical conversations with them. He’s just a different kind of team principal.”
Asked if that was lacking under Horner, Verstappen replied: “We have a lot of discussions about a lot of things, and of course, that stays within the team.”
Internally, Mekies is described as a “people person” – a shift Verstappen acknowledges. “Maybe the team needed that. I get along well with him. That’s always a bonus, of course. Hopefully, we can do that much more intensively in the coming weeks and months.”
On whether an engineer-style boss is now essential in F1, Verstappen shrugged: “Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t want to stand here and talk about that for half an hour. But everyone is happy, in good spirits.”
The Dutchman praised his interim race engineer Simon Rennie and confirmed other changes may come: “It’s very difficult to, within two weeks, suddenly say a lot of things need to change out of the blue.
“Maybe you want to change something, and this is something that will happen over the coming weeks, months.”
“For sure, he (Mekies) is very keen and very motivated. “I get on very well with him. Also with Simon. He steps in and he’s immediately on it.
“Very enjoyable to work with Simon.”
Verstappen’s sprint win gave Mekies an early victory. “The team can always count on me. They will always get my very best, whoever is in charge. I’m always trying to give them the best possible result, and that’s also what they pay me for.”
But with higher downforce for Sunday’s race, Verstappen fell outside the top three in qualifying. “I’m always very realistic about what I feel in the car. When I look at certain onboards from other cars, I know enough.”
“Helmut isn’t in the car,” he said, pushing back on Dr Marko’s optimism about a possible win and ongoing title challenge. “I understand you have to be positive about it.”
Ho-Pin Tung, speaking on Viaplay, noted Verstappen had gone from “the fastest to almost the slowest” on the straights in qualifying. “It could very well be the right choice for Sunday,” Tung added.
Marko agrees that Red Bull is “counting on rain, obviously,” but Verstappen remains cautious: “McLaren is the best car regardless of the conditions, even on a wet track.”
“Rain here usually means that drivers from the back of the grid can see almost nothing, which is simply not ideal. Even then, I’ll only be able to gain one place at most.”
Looking to Verstappen’s future for 2026 and beyond, Auto Motor und Sport quotes an unnamed driver as saying: “If you’re going to make a mistake, it’s better to do it with the team you’re with. In 2026, you’ll be able to make a much better choice with more knowledge.”