Laurent Mekies wild 12-month Red Bull rollercoaster explained

It has been 12 months since Laurent Mekies was thrust into one of the biggest jobs in Formula 1. On 9 July 2025, Red Bull dismissed Christian Horner and handed the Frenchman the reins as team principal and CEO with immediate effect. 

A year on, with Red Bull sitting fourth in the 2026 constructors' championship on 128 points, well adrift of leaders Mercedes on 333, the scale of the challenge facing Mekies is becoming clearer by the race.

His first act was to oversee a remarkable 2025 title fightback. When he took charge ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen trailed the McLaren drivers by over 100 points. Rather than pivot resources towards the seismic 2026 regulation change, Red Bull doubled down on developing the 2025 car. 

It nearly paid off. Verstappen clawed his way back to within just two points of Lando Norris by Abu Dhabi, losing the championship by the smallest of margins. It was a heroic effort, but it came at a cost.

Red Bull is now, by Mekies' own admission, "paying the price" for that late-season 2025 push. The RB22 was 1.2 seconds off pole position in Japan, and while upgrades have steadily improved the picture, Mekies has been characteristically blunt about where they stand. 

"We don't expect to be winning," he said earlier this season, while ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix he conceded: "There is no doubt that the Austrian upgrade alone will not be enough."

The transition to becoming a fully-fledged factory team, running the Red Bull PowerTrains engine developed in partnership with Ford, adds another layer of complexity. This is entirely new territory. 

Integrating a first-generation power unit into a car built around radically different aerodynamic and energy-management regulations is an enormous undertaking, particularly when rivals Mercedes and Ferrari have decades of engine-building expertise.

More Red Bull exits: Is Verstappen next?

Beyond the technical hurdles, Mekies has had to manage a staggering exodus of personnel. Helmut Marko retired at the end of the 2025. Chief designer Craig Skinner stepped down in February 2026. And in April, it was confirmed that Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen's long-time race engineer, will leave for McLaren once his contract expires in late 2027.

Then there is Verstappen himself. Seventh in the standings on 76 points, the four-time champion has been scathing about the 2026 regulations and the RB22. 

"It's still terrible. It's playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. For me, it's just a joke," he said after the Chinese Grand Prix. In another interview, he offered an even more revealing assessment: "I'm not having fun at all. I feel empty."

His contract runs until 2028, but performance-related exit clauses are believed to have been triggered after his results through Silverstone made it mathematically impossible to finish in the top two by the summer break. 

Verstappen's management has held exploratory talks with McLaren, while Mekies has tried to cool the speculation, insisting his star driver "will be much happier once he has a more competitive car."

That may well be true, but delivering that car is the challenge that will define Mekies' tenure. He has spoken of a "continuous, closing-the-gap trajectory" and expressed confidence in the power unit project's long-term direction. 

Whether that is enough to satisfy the most talented driver of his generation remains the question Red Bull cannot yet answer. For Mekies, it has been a rollercoaster 12-month period. From the highs of almost completing the most unlikely of title comebacks, to now facing the prospect of a future without Verstappen.