Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has pledged that the team will continue to be as equally "extremely brutally honest" with Max Verstappen as he is with the team after he signed his new contract.
It was announced on August 20th that Verstappen had put an end to the speculation about his future by agreeing to a two-year contract extension to stay with Red Bull until the end of the 2030 season.
The four-time champion, who has won all 71 of his grands prix and titles with the team, had been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes over the past few years, or, in more recent times, a move to McLaren.
However, those claims have now been put to bed after Verstappen agreed to extend his deal by two years, with his previous terms set to expire at the end of 2028. If Verstappen does stay until 2030, he will become the longest-serving driver at one team in F1 history at 15 seasons.
Verstappen has been vocal in his demand for a competitive car from Red Bull to allow him to challenge for wins and regular podiums, having scored four podiums from the opening 12 rounds, with a best of second in Austria and Hungary.
Speaking after the announcement, his team principal Mekies explained that as the partnership continues, both sides will continue to be "brutally honest" with each other.
"It has nothing to do with leadership moments," Mekies began to tell media, including RacingNews365, when asked if the extension was the 'defining moment of his leadership' thus far.
"It is teamwork. It is 2,000 people working and trying to lay down the facts that will convince Max that we are able to produce the best package in the future, and that his input is well-used in order for us to produce that best package.
"That is what the group is working day and night for, and we are not going to change our approach; we are still going to be extremely brutally honest with each other; we are still going to complain when the car is not fast enough.
"We are still going to express frustrations when we feel we could have extracted more, or when we feel we are not progresssing fast enough, that is what drives us out of bed every day, and we are not going to change that.
"But it is something that fires every single person in different fields, and it is something that fires Max every single day."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix! The duo discuss Max Verstappen's massive crash, if Lando Norris' title defence dream is alive and team orders starting to be used.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!