Laurent Mekies is excited for the return of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Speaking about the expectations for this weekend’s Miami GP, the Red Bull team principal highlighted how the April break was useful for further developing the cars.
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The category spent the last few weeks on a forced break due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs. As a result, there was time to better develop the cars under the new regulations, as well as for the FIA to present targeted adjustments to the rules starting from this stage in the United States.
Speaking then about the resumption of the 2026 calendar, Mekies pointed out that “everyone at Red Bull is excited to return to racing after the forced break. It is undeniable that these last few weeks have been useful for the teams, the FIA, and Formula 1: for the teams, to further develop these brand-new cars, and for the three parties to work together to improve the regulations based on the learnings from the first three races.”
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“In practice, Miami will be a restart for the season, after this unexpected and exceptionally long hiatus. As for us, everyone has been working intensely in Milton Keynes, both on the chassis and the power unit, with Max [Verstappen] and Isack [Hadjar] also involved. We do not expect to solve all our problems at once, but we certainly intend to give Max and Isack a car they feel more comfortable driving at the limit,” he continued.
“Ultimately, only the Miami track will reveal how good our work was and how much we still need to improve. The Miami GP is also the first of three races to be held in the USA this season and, therefore, it is a significant moment for us, as Red Bull Ford Powertrains will make its debut in North America,” he concluded.
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