Max Verstappen and Red Bull's recent success: How big a role has Laurent Mekies played?

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have seen a revival of sorts in the last couple of races as the Dutch driver has gone on to dominate both races. After spending an entire season with a car he was neither confident nor happy with, Verstappen surprised everyone with how he's been performing recently.

So much so that he has cut down the gap to Oscar Piastri to only 69 points with 7 races left. Max Verstappen is not the only one, though, who seems to be getting a lot of accolades. Laurent Mekies is also someone who seems to be getting a lot of credit for the turnaround.

In fairness, Mekies joined the squad after the F1 British GP, where Christian Horner was fired. It's not been as many races that he's had as the team boss. With that being said, how big a role has Laurent Mekies played in Red Bull's recent success? Well, if we're being honest, the answer to that question is 'Not Much'. Here's how!

F1 as a sport is run on long lead times

The biggest thing that needs to be understood here is that Formula 1, as a sport, is run on long lead times. The upgrades in Monza that have seemingly set Max Verstappen up for two dominant wins would have been sanctioned months back. With Mekies joining the team very recently, the direction of car development, or how much work has been put into the changes, has all been done already.

What we're seeing on the car right now is something that doesn't necessarily have Mekies' hand behind it. It's a part of the upgrade plan that was already set in motion.

If anything, this is the fruit of Christian Horner's labour at Red Bull

Moreover, what we're seeing right now on the car, whether it comes to the upgrades or whatever development direction that has been taken, it's all a product of what Christian Horner did. Before he was ultimately removed, Horner was adamant that Red Bull went all out in trying to achieve a title this season with Max Verstappen.

He was the one responsible for the aggressive development plan that ultimately saw the car be what it is right now.

So, when should we start giving credit to Laurent Mekies?

Finally, answering a critical question here because this is something that's going to be a talking point very soon. When can we say that the Red Bull now has "Laurent Mekies' DNA"?

The answer to that question is that it will be next year mid-season, when it will be around 12 months since Laurent has taken over. As we've established earlier as well, for a sport like F1, it's always important to understand that the lead times are long, and hence it takes a while for the changes one makes to be implemented and have an impact.