Laurent Mekies highlighted that Red Bull is paying in 2026 the price for having fought for the Formula 1 title until the end of 2025. He also confirmed the direction the team will take for 2027.
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In the last campaign, Max Verstappen erased more than 100 points of deficit in the standings in the second half of the championship, being in the fight for the fifth title until the last race of the year. The thing is, for that, the Austrian team continued with the car update, while McLaren already shifted attention to 2026 and the new regulations.
Thinking about the second half of the season, Mekies explained that Red Bull intends to end the development of the 2026 project earlier than it did in relation to 2025, focusing on the RB23 project for 2027. “We are in a completely different situation than last year, when we were in the middle of a race to recover ground and fighting for the title until the end,” he told De Telegraaf.
“That’s why you won’t see us pushing as hard this season as we did back then. After the summer break, most of our attention will turn to next year’s car; I think that’s perfectly normal. There will still be updates this year, but fewer than those we introduced in 2025,” he continued.
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“Only time will tell if we can close the gap quickly. And the situation is different from last year, as we will focus on the future earlier. At some point, we will have to decide on the balance between this year and next. I hope that decision is made earlier than last year,” he continued.
“Does the time and energy we invested in that final effort last year affect our starting point in 2026? Of course. We are paying a certain price for that today. Do we use that as an excuse? No,” he concluded.
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