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Red Bull Racing has continued developing the RB21 while most of the other top teams have already shifted their focus to the 2026 regulations. Amid this, Laurent Mekies came out and revealed the reason behind the Milton-Keynes outfit's approach, while also suggesting that there is a price to pay.
Red Bull Racing went into the 2025 F1 summer break as arguably the fourth-best car on the performance index. Max Verstappen struggled massively in the races before the summer break, and as a result, the team continued developing the RB21 to get rid of the balance issues.
As a result, Laurent Mekies and Co. brought a major upgrade after the summer break, which put Max Verstappen and Red Bull back in contention for the race wins. Since the summer break, The Dutchman has won three races and finished the other three on the podium.
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However, the upgrades come at a cost. While Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes have shifted focus to the 2026 cars, Red Bull has still developed the 2025 car, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of resources (CFD and Wind tunnel time).
The newly appointed Team Principal, Laurent Mekies, came out after the Mexican GP and explained why the team made the decision, as he said, (via Motorsport Week)
“We are doing it this way because we think for us, let alone the other guys, we think for us it’s a net gain. We validate our approaches and hence we calibrate for 2026. If we thought it would compromise it, we would not be doing it. We know it’s a price to pay. We think it’s reasonable and we think it’s worth it.”
F1 is set to introduce a new chassis as well as power unit regulations for the 2026 season. While the power unit development wouldn't be disrupted by Laurent Mekies and Co.’s decision to continue development of the 2025 car, the chassis and aerodynamics would be on the back foot.
“Not going to change our approach”: Laurent Mekies on Red Bull's approach for the remaining races after the Mexico City GP
Max Verstappen was the fastest driver on Friday at the Mexico GP, but the long run pace of the Red Bull wasn't on par with McLaren. As a result, the team made changes overnight to favor the long run pace, which took away from the Dutchman's single lap pace.
Laurent Mekies came out after the 2025 Mexican GP and suggested that Red Bull would not be changing their approach going into the final four races.
“We are not going to change our approach. We were not looking at the championships five races ago. We are not looking at the championships before Austin. We are not going to after Austin,” said the Red Bull Team Principal (via F1)
“What we look at is, yes, we don't feel 100% good about this weekend in terms of car performance. So that's where the focus goes now, already live as we speak back in Milton Keynes, tomorrow, the focus will be what we do if we come back here,” added Laurent Mekies
Max Verstappen is currently 36 points behind Lando Norris in the Driver's championship with four races remaining, including two sprint weekends.
