Red Bull Racing started the 2026 Formula 1 season with profound changes in its structure, and this is already noticeable within the team. According to former driver Karun Chandhok, the team looks like ‘a different team’ after the departure of Christian Horner.
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Horner left the position of team principal in the middle of the 2025 season, being replaced by Laurent Mekies. The executive took over after leading Racing Bulls and began commanding Red Bull Racing in a new cycle, also marked by the introduction of new technical regulations.
In addition to the change in leadership, the team promoted Isack Hadjar to the second car this season. The Frenchman began sharing the grid with Max Verstappen, reuniting with Mekies, with whom he had previously worked at the sister team.
For Chandhok, this new configuration could have a positive impact, especially for Hadjar in his first year with Red Bull: “It should be,” said the former driver when commenting on whether working with Mekies again would be a confidence factor for the Frenchman.
The current commentator also highlighted that the team has changed significantly compared to previous seasons: “It’s a very different team. Now, Christian Horner is gone, Helmut Marko is gone. This is the first full year of the Laurent Mekies era at Red Bull. I think maybe it’s an environment with less pressure,” he stated.
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Historically, Red Bull has been known for tough decisions with its drivers, especially those who shared the team with Verstappen. Hadjar is another name in a long list of teammates who faced difficulties alongside the team’s current technical leader, but the Frenchman has been performing better than his predecessors.
Even with a complicated start to the season for the team, Chandhok highlighted the Frenchman’s positive adaptation. The former driver also cited the previous experience with Liam Lawson as an example of an approach that didn’t work: “It didn’t work, did it, putting that pressure of giving Lawson only two races to prove his worth in the car. That’s never going to work,” Chandhok stated.
The commentator also highlighted that Hadjar doesn’t necessarily need to outperform Verstappen to fulfill his role: “They don’t need him to beat Max. They need him to be one or two tenths behind and, on a day when Max has a problem, he’s there,” he added.
Finally, Chandhok praised the Frenchman’s initial performance and reinforced that he has been meeting this expectation: “Just stay right behind Max, and so far Isack has been doing that,” he concluded.
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