Red Bull does not consider the current phase in Formula 1 satisfactory, even after having recovered performance throughout the season. Laurent Mekies, the team principal, stated that the Milton Keynes team will only be satisfied when it consistently competes for wins again.
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“We are not content with anything less than winning races,” Mekies told the press, commenting on the team’s current situation. For the first time since 2015, the team reaches the summer break without a single victory. Additionally, Max Verstappen has not won in the first half of the championship for the first time since 2017.
Despite the difficult start, the RB22 showed improvement. The car went from a disadvantage of over a second to Mercedes to being just a few tenths behind. At the beginning of the year, Red Bull was fighting for positions with Haas and Alpine, but now it is back to fighting for podiums against rivals like McLaren and Ferrari.
Mekies attributed the recovery to the collective work of the team, involving the chassis and power unit areas, as well as the professionals working behind the scenes: “Because to come back from 1.2 seconds [deficit], and finish three tenths behind in the middle of the season with this level of competition…” he said.
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The executive also highlighted the contribution of the approximately 2,000 people involved in the car’s development. “Our 2,000 people are working to bring a little more to each area. Some of them you never hear about, but they put us back in the position we are now, fighting for the podium in every race.”
Red Bull’s improvement also reflected in Max Verstappen’s results. Since the Dutchman’s first podium at the Canadian GP, the fifth round of the season, the four-time world champion has achieved three more podiums in the following six races.
Even with the improvement, victories remain the team’s main goal. Mekies emphasized that Red Bull will only celebrate again when it has a car capable of winning on its own merit. “Don’t count on me to say we are satisfied, because we are not, and we will not be satisfied until we have a racing car capable of winning on its own merit again.”
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