F1’s 2026 regulations continue to divide opinion. Max Verstappen has been one of their most vocal critics. However, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies insists there is no danger of the four time World Champion walking away from the sport.
Speaking during the second round of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Mekies directly addressed speculation linking Verstappen’s criticism of the new cars to a possible future exit.
Mekies: “Zero concerns” about Verstappen’s future in F1
When asked whether Verstappen’s frustration raised alarm bells inside Red Bull, Mekies was blunt in his response, “The short answer to that question is no, zero concerns about that.”
The team principal did not attempt to soften the scale of the regulatory shift. Instead, he acknowledged how dramatic the transition to the 2026 cars has been for everyone involved.
He revealed that Verstappen had already felt the scale of the change in the simulation last year. “And yes, I do recall our conversations last year when he was switching from one car model to another car model, so from ’25 to ’26 in the sim. And yes, the difference was so big that at some stage, I think rightly so, he decided to focus on the ’25 approach.”
Mekies then expanded on the broader challenge facing F1 under the new framework. “The reality is that the challenges of these regulations are massive. They are massive for the teams, massive for the power unit manufacturers, and massive for the drivers as well. It is different for all of us, but that’s also what we love – to try to break through these challenges, to try to find solutions that we felt were not on the table. And that’s what we will do with Max’s help.”
Mekies framed the situation as part of F1’s natural cycle of technical upheaval rather than a crisis tied specifically to Verstappen.
Why Mekies believes Verstappen will adapt
While Verstappen described the new cars as “Formule E on steroids” earlier in testing, Mekies expressed confidence that the Red Bull driver would ultimately master the changes.
“I’m quite confident that, as it will turn out, he will most likely become the best at mastering these regulations, and the technicalities and tricks, as much as he was in the previous set of regulations.”
That confidence reflects the team’s internal belief that elite drivers adapt. After all, in F1, rule changes separate good drivers from great ones. Mekies clearly sees Verstappen in the latter category.
Waché: Winning is the priority
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché offered a similarly pragmatic view last week. He made it clear that the team’s responsibility is not to make Verstappen enjoy the rulebook. It is to give him a car capable of fighting at the front of F1.
“It is not my goal to make him happy. We can only make him happy by winning the race. My job and the job of the team are to make sure that we give him the tool that he’s able to compete at the front.”
Waché only reinforced the same message that Mekies delivered in Bahrain. For the team, performance comes first and satisfaction follows results.
He also said that the team’s responsibility comes with improving the car’s performance within the new technical rules. “The regulations itself and how the car design is, in terms of how we feel with the car, due to this regulation, is an outside area. It’s an FIA discussion. We can participate in that, but the main purpose and the main focus is to make the car better.”
Red Bull’s competitive reality
Mekies also admitted that Red Bull is not currently setting the pace. “We have a huge amount of work to do, unfortunately, we are not the benchmark.”
He continued on to say, “We have a very high confidence that we are probably trailing the group of the top guys right now.”
This only underlines Red Bull’s current competitiveness against the other top teams. While they might not see themselves as the reference point heading into the season, Mekies rejected any suggestion that Verstappen’s regulatory criticism signals instability or a potential exit from F1.
