What new Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies hinted is his biggest priority

Laurent Mekies has spoken publicly for the first time since taking over as Red Bull’s new F1 team boss.

Having taken over from the ousted Christian Horner in the days that followed the British Grand Prix, Mekies faced his first grilling from the media in the Red Bull hot seat as CEO and team principal.

Addressing the media on Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Crash.net are on the ground, Mekies spoke at length about his new role, and provided the first hints of what his key priorities will be…

Making Max Verstappen’s decision ‘easy’

Ahead of the weekend, Max Verstappen insisted Horner's sacking will have no bearing on the decision he makes about his future, with the four-time world champion continuing to be linked with a blockbuster switch to Mercedes.

Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028 but has mechanisms included in his current deal - the details of which are not public - that could enable him to exit early if certain performance-related conditions are not met.

For Mekies, convincing Verstappen is simple; deliver him a fast, competitive car and he will stay put.

"In terms of priority, I'm sure Max wants a fast car," Mekies said. "If we get him a fast car, I'm sure it's cancelling out all the other considerations.

"So really, the focus is very much to try to get to know the team as quickly as possible, in order to see how we can support, how we can build the next step of competitiveness in order to get a fast car -  and hence to make it an easy call for Max."

Empowering Red Bull’s workforce

Red Bull may be struggling for performance, and lost several key members of staff over the past year, but Mekies made a point about the strength in depth that exists within the team.

Mekies is determined to quieten the noise surrounding the team and focus on what Red Bull does best. He is confident the team have the right people in place to turn things around.

"All I've been seeing in these two weeks is extraordinary talents, incredible racing spirit," Mekies said. "These guys go on the edge, on every single aspect.

"There is not a single department where you see a feeling of laying back or resting. They really are at war in the good sense of the word.

"What we are going to try to do is to make sure that all these women and men, they have everything they need to express themselves at best, that they are supported, that they have all the means that they need to have to show their talent.

“You do not see weaknesses. You see a lot of desire from everyone to get that Red Bull energy, perhaps to reduce the noise outside, just to concentrate on racing.

“We’ll be relying on the incredible strengths that there are in this team. Everybody is stepping up. It’s certainly an opportunity to look for even more empowerment of our people.

“Every time we have discussions, we talk about how much strength in depth you have in this team, and that’s what you find.

“We will certainly look at this phase as a way to get our incredible people to step up and create together the next competitive advantage for the next regulation phase.”

He added: "We call it the hidden laptime. It's not a lap time that will appear on your windtunnel tracker, on your engine power tracker.

"It's how much your people are engaged, how much they are motivated, how much they trust each other, and how much they help each other.”

Getting the basics right

While Red Bull have not publicly provided a reason for Horner’s dismissal, it has been widely reported that there was an internal struggle for power. Horner’s long-standing grip on Red Bull Racing had been slipping for some time, and he finally lost it.

So have Red Bull picked Mekies as Horner’s successor in part because he is happy to focus solely on the racing side of the organisation, rather than wanting control of wider parts of the company?

While Mekies acknowledged it is “probably a bit early  to talk about structure” within Red Bull in the early stages of the post-Horner era, it is clear a fundamental desire for on-track excellence is the biggest motivation for the Frenchman.

”But for sure, one thing that is very high in our priorities is to make sure that we can have the right focus, that we avoid any bottlenecking in the company at all levels,” he said.

"It’s with that spirit that we look at what we need to do next. For sure, Formula 1 comes first. We have the chassis operation, the power unit operation. That’s what is going to be the main focus.

“It’s a racing team. People in the team love racing. That’s what they are here for. That’s going to be where the main focus is.”