Max Verstappen’s private jet returned full of Red Bull Formula 1 bigwigs after the Chinese GP. Laurent Mekies canceled his media interviews and joined not only the driver but also Pierre Waché, Gianpiero Lambiase, and the Dutchman’s manager Raymond Vermeulen.
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The start of the 2026 season began very difficult for the Austrian team. The four-time champion has already shown himself to be quite against the new F1 car, but the visit to Shanghai made the difficulties very clear: in the Sprint, he finished 1s7 behind George Russell, the winner, while in the main race he had to retire due to technical problems.
Therefore, the attempt at solutions began right after the checkered flag. Mekies, Red Bull’s team principal, canceled all media commitments after the race, first giving the excuse that he needed to catch his flight, but was later seen boarding Verstappen’s private jet at the same time as the competitor.
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Along with the duo were technical director Waché, manager Vermeulen, and race engineer Lambiase. The plane took off a few hours after the end of the Chinese GP.
It is not clear what was discussed on Max’s private plane, but certainly some discussion about the current situation took place. It is clear that the multi-champion team is not where it would like to be at this start of the championship.
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