Major Red Bull-Racing Bulls difference revealed: 'Very simple answer'

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed the biggest difference between leading the Austrian outfit and Racing Bulls, describing the answer as "very simple".

Mekies led Red Bull's sister team from the start of the 2024 season until the conclusion of this year's British Grand Prix, before being promoted to replace Christian Horner.

While the Frenchman has only been in his new role for a few months, he has already identified key differences in the challenges of leading each team.

At Racing Bulls, Mekies gained experience guiding a midfield team; however, at Red Bull, simply collecting points is not considered a strong performance.

According to Mekies, the biggest difference lies in how a top team like Red Bull reflects on a grand prix, with the outcome being judged by one simple question: 'Did you win or not?'

Asked how different leading Red Bull is compared to Racing Bulls, Mekies said: "I gave you that type of answer a few months ago, when wearing the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls colours.

"It’s very easy to underestimate how extreme you need to go with the car, and therefore with a team, with a company, when you look for ultimate performance.

"You find a team trying to extremise every aspect of the car and the company to get that last bit of lap time. 

"Of course, it’s not a high return on investment; it’s a lot of effort for that last bit. But that’s what top teams are about. Every race weekend, you have a very simple answer to your weekend: did you win or not?

"We got this P2 in Zandvoort. We got lucky, or rather, Lando [Norris] got unlucky with what happened there. But that’s the only question you ask yourself on Monday morning: what were we missing? 

"I guess in terms of mindset, that’s the biggest difference between the midfield and what’s happening at the front is that you’re targeting ultimate performance. Until you reach it, the answer is that you didn’t do everything you could."

Red Bull and Max Verstappen then at least gave Mekies the answer to his question, regarding doing enough, with victory recently in the Italian Grand Prix. Can the team now follow up in this weekend's Azerbaijan GP?