Exclusive: Max Verstappen refutes popular Red Bull opinion

Max Verstappen insists Red Bull is not in a "rebuild" phase, but merely that there is "fine-tuning" taking place at the six-time F1 constructors' champions.

The energy drinks-backed team is no longer the formidable force that powered the Dutchman to each of his four drivers' titles, and much has been made of the transitional period that has encompassed the late stages of the Christian Horner era and the early days of Laurent Mekies at the helm.

In the final year — or so — of the Briton's tenure, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Will Courtenay all ended upwards of two decades of service to the team, since the fledgling project started in earnest, moving on to new homes in F1.

That trio headlined those exiting the team at the time, and that trend helped lay the foundation of what has become a prevailing narrative within the paddock: that there is a so-called brain drain happening at Red Bull with key players and influential figures from its championship-winning heydays leaving; that the team is entering into the sort of rebuild akin to that of an NBA or NHL franchise.

Long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase — who has been in Verstappen's ear since his Red Bull debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, his famous maiden victory in F1 —  announcing he will be leaving for McLaren has aided that perspective, and he is undeniably a loss, not only to the now-71-time grand prix winner but to the wider team as well.

But to Verstappen, more has been made of this pattern than is necessary. He feels there is often great drama — too much drama —  surrounding a Red Bull departure, despite the fact it happens up and down the paddock as staff come and go at every team in Formula 1.

As part of his exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the 28-year-old elaborated on this stance and is adamant that the backbone of the Milton Keynes-based squad remains as robust as ever.

"I wouldn't call it rebuilding," the Dutchman says. "There's nothing really to rebuild because there is a very strong structure in the team that keeps on going.

"It's not like a few people left and everyone doesn't know what to do anymore, you know, so I don't call it rebuilding. It's just fine-tuning."

Chasing perfection

It is just over a year since the change of leadership at Red Bull. At the tail end of last season, the new ways of working under Mekies and the transformative Monza-spec floor upgrade were the catalyst for Verstappen's unlikely championship charge.

In the end, he fell tantalisingly close to what would have been the most improbable title recovery in contemporary Formula 1, finishing the campaign just two points short of eventual champion Lando Norris.

And whilst 2026 has not been easy, by Verstappen's own admission, there is evidence to back up his point of view.

The first year of the team's power unit project has been a success, unexpectedly so. There is naturally still ground to make up to the more established manufacturers, especially on the battery deployment and energy management side of things, but being considered the engine benchmark by the FIA is undoubtedly an indication of a job well done.

Its current chassis, the RB22, has been problematic at points. Still, the team has developed it well, and there are promising signs that Verstappen can build upon his four podiums from the opening 11 rounds of the season as the campaign heads into its second half.

So, whilst there is internal tweaking taking place to return the Mekies-led operation to championship-winning glory, it has remained competitive, and in turn, Verstappen's motivation has not wavered.

When asked how engaging he finds a project like this, one that is going through more trying times than those that have come before, Verstappen maintains that Red Bull is "like a second family" to him, having only ever raced in F1 for either the top team or its sister outfit and despite the challenges — and the unabating noise surrounding his future.

"Like I said, this is like a second family, so I enjoy working with a lot of the people here," he explains.

"And yeah, I always want the best. They want the best, and we always try to do everything we can to try and achieve something close to being perfect. But it's hard. It's a very competitive environment, Formula 1."