Max Verstappen’s new RB boss hints at “minimal” work on 2025 car

Max Verstappen’s new Red Bull boss, Laurent Mekies, has hinted at reduced development regarding the team’s 2025 car. The team principal detailed his thoughts on the back of an underwhelming showing at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 48-year-old, who was brought in to replace Christian Horner, explained how the Milton Keynes outfit would be switching its developmental focus from its RB21 challenger to the 2026 car. Sharing his thoughts as quoted by Planet F1, the French motorsport chief stated:

“The season is still very long, even if car development is going to heavily slow down, or is pretty much going to be minimal from now on, we still have a lot of things we can learn.”

Red Bull Racing's RB21 car has largely failed to deliver the results several at the Milton Keynes outfit would have hoped for when the vehicle was constructed. The machinery has, however, proven to be a difficult car to tame, with only Max Verstappen of the three drivers the team has had so far being able to extract maximum performance from the car.

Other drivers, including Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, have failed to effectively get the best out of the car, with both drivers only able to muster up a combined 10 points for the team from the first 14 races of the campaign.

However, with the recent update regarding the upgrades to the car from Mekies, how the second half of the 2025 season unfolds for even Max Verstappen will be one worth keeping a close watch on.

Max Verstappen’s boss optimistic about better results

Max Verstappen’s boss, Laurent Mekies, also expressed his optimism about recording better results with the RB21 machinery. The former Racing Bulls team principal detailed how if the team was able to extract performance from the car, they would record much more impressive results compared to those at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Mekies highlighted how the team’s package during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend could be a representation of the performance of the car.

“We accept the fact that we are probably not very strong on a track like [the Hungaroring],” Mekies said.

“No question, McLaren are faster, but look at Spa, Max was able to fight, certainly on Saturday, and surprise everyone in the sprint. If we are able to extract a bit more of the car thanks to weekends like [Hungary], then hopefully we can put up a better fight.”

Despite the challenges of the Red Bull Racing RB21 car, Max Verstappen has been able to clinch two race victories and a Sprint win with the machinery. The Dutch driver has also recorded four pole positions with the car, with the most recent being at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.