Less politics and focus on “pure racing”: Laurent Mekies’ targets for Red Bull
Published: Dec 16, 2025
Arthur Jones
Writer
Mekies says it is important that Red Bull focuses solely on “pure racing” and is “respectful” towards its rivals
Although the 2025 Formula 1 title fight went down to the final race in Abu Dhabi, the tension in the paddock was completely different than in 2021. Four years ago, the atmosphere between Red Bull and Mercedes was hostile at times, even though Max Verstappen laughed it off at the 2025 finale.
“Well, hostile, hostile… Nobody punched each other, right? I didn’t find it hostile,” said the four-time world champion. “Hostile is quite an extreme word. It was just very competitive and the fact that the two teams didn’t like each other at that moment is another story. But, hostile is something else.”
Nevertheless, there were countless political games between then Red Bull boss Christian Horner and his Mercedes compatriot Toto Wolff at the time. Said games somewhat continued when McLaren became Red Bull’s nearest rival, as there were some insinuations about flexible wings and tyre water - which McLaren CEO Zak Brown responded to with a special drinking bottle.
Nevertheless, there were countless political games between then Red Bull boss Christian Horner and his Mercedes compatriot Toto Wolff at the time. Said games somewhat continued when McLaren became Red Bull’s nearest rival, as there were some insinuations about flexible wings and tyre water - which McLaren CEO Zak Brown responded to with a special drinking bottle.
But since the summer, that polemic has essentially disappeared. It was clear to see during Friday’s press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Brown and Laurent Mekies, who replaced Horner in July, appeared together.
The atmosphere was remarkably friendly - despite the weekend’s title decider. Another sign of the changed tone was the so-called “tape gate”, after which Mekies quickly stated that Red Bull would stop removing Lando Norris’ tape from the pitwall. And the shift seems partly down to Mekies, although he doesn’t want to take any credit for it.
“I don't know if you want to call it [that Red Bull was on] the edge [before] or not. I think we had a very strong fight, but we had a fair and clean fight. It's the way we want to go racing. We push everything to the limit, but we certainly respect the competition,” he said.
“When it comes to sporting fairness and respecting the competition, we think we can do both: being on the very limit and being respectful to the competition. Sport is a battle between giants, and we feel very strongly in that fight, and we respect our competitors.”
