Team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed how the team continued developing its RB21 despite the arrival of a major regulation change in 2026 and the temptation to focus entirely on the following season.
Verstappen trailed Oscar Piastri by 104 points and Lando Norris by 70 after the Dutch Grand Prix. Yet Red Bull’s determination helped transform his campaign.
The turning point came at Monza, where Red Bull introduced an upgraded floor that gave the RB21 a new direction. Verstappen went on to win six of the final nine races and ultimately finished just two points behind Norris in the championship.
Mekies, who replaced Christian Horner in July 2025, said the attitude within Red Bull’s factory played a major role in the remarkable comeback.
“The year has been a rollercoaster,” Mekies told RACER. “I’m not going to lie, but it’s been above all an incredible privilege to be part of the team.”
He explained that Red Bull’s engineers refused to accept that the 2025 car could not be improved.
“I recall very well Pierre and the team not wanting to give up, not accepting the lack of performance of last year’s car,” Mekies said.
With new regulations and a new Red Bull power unit arriving for 2026, Mekies admitted the team had every reason to move its attention away from the RB21.
“They would have had all the reason in the world to turn the page,” he said. “But nobody wanted to do that.”
Instead, the engineers continued searching for improvements and eventually found a more effective setup direction.
“Slowly but surely, they found a new sweet spot for the car, new developments for the car, new avenues,” Mekies said. “And together with some Max magic, it gave us the comeback.”
The result was one of the strongest late-season recoveries in recent F1 history. Verstappen came within two points of taking the drivers’ championship, while Red Bull’s refusal to give up proved crucial to his title challenge.
The 2026 Formula 1 season continues with the Heineken Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from 21 to 23 August.
