New Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted that Max Verstappen is key to the team’s future amid uncertainty over his own fate in the team, Afrosport reports.
Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until 2028 but has clauses in his current deal that allows him to approach other teams from the summer break, and has been heavily linked with a blockbuster switch to Mercedes, as well as Aston Martin.
The sudden departure of long-time boss Christian Horner after the British Grand Prix put further speculation on Verstappen’s future but the Dutch driver has clarified it has no bearing.
Mekies, who replaced Horner, now has the tough task of giving Verstappen a competitive car for the rest of the year, having lagged behind the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“The truth is Red Bull is hugely committed to Max,” Mekies told the F1 website. “And the way we can be hugely committed to Max is by giving him the best possible car.
“And giving him the best possible car is what every single person in the company wants more than anything else.
“So that’s where the effort is made really. And the rest will be a consequence. But of course, Max is central to the project and he’s key to the project and we need his magic at the racetrack.
“He has been with the team for a very long time and he has huge inputs in helping us driving the next competitive edge that we will need to build.”
When asked if Red Bull can convince Verstappen to stay, Mekies responded: “I think the team has everything to do that.
“It has the means. It has the spirit. And more importantly, it has the talents. So in short, yeah, I think we have everything to be able to give that to our drivers.”
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Reigning world champion Verstappen is 69 points behind current leader Piastri in the drivers’ championship while Red Bull are 288 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship.
