Laurent Mekies gave a brief analysis of the difficult start to the 2026 season for Red Bull in Formula 1. The official responded whether the team is paying the price for having developed the 2025 car until the end of the year.
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Last year, the multi-champion team was one of the few that continued with the development of the current car instead of focusing efforts on 2026 and the regulation change. The reason was Max Verstappen’s fight for the title until the end – and it almost worked, as the Dutchman staged a memorable recovery and lost the title by just two points.
However, Mekies acknowledged that this cost a high price in this championship. “We thought, and still think, that it was the right thing to do, because turning the page to 2026 would have been an easy escape, a kind of illusion that next year would be better, even without fully understanding the limitations of the 2025 car. We didn’t think that was the right approach,” he told Beyond the Grid.
“Now, of course, the time and energy we invested in that final effort last year, does that have an impact on where we start in 2026? Of course it does. So, yes, we are paying a bit of a price today. Do we use that as an excuse? No,” he continued.
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However, Laurent showed confidence that Red Bull has the strength to leave this start of the 2026 Formula 1 season behind, using the past as a reference.
“We are not satisfied with the starting point, but we believe we will overcome these difficulties. Just as we did last year, we will fully understand our limitations. This team has been very, very good at turning things around, and we have another opportunity to do that this year,” he concluded.
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