Mekies plays down his contribution to Red Bull's comeback.

      "It signifies that we have the finest team we could ever desire."

      Laurent Mekies asserts that he is not the key person behind Red Bull’s remarkable turnaround since taking over from the dismissed Christian Horner. The French engineer, who was promoted from sister team Racing Bulls earlier this year, has been largely acknowledged - by both Max Verstappen and Dr Helmut Marko - for transforming Red Bull’s structure and igniting its resurgence in the latter part of the season. However, Mekies downplayed the recognition when asked about his contributions. "It’s still zero," he chuckled. "And I'm saying that quite seriously. The progress made in Monza was a result of the collective effort of everyone analyzing the car’s limitations race after race. They are constantly asking how we can maximize the car's potential, increase its speed, and identify areas for improvement to obtain better lap times. That effort, paired with extremely strong and clear feedback from Max, is yielding results. That's encouraging, because as a team, it indicates we possess the best people we could ever wish for." Marko recently mentioned that Mekies has helped cultivate a new environment within Red Bull, where driver feedback is more directly valued - a departure from Horner’s more management-driven approach. Mekies’ next significant responsibility will be to advise Marko and shareholders regarding the team’s driver lineup for 2026, with Isack Hadjar anticipated to join and Yuki Tsunoda’s future uncertain after another inconsistent weekend in Singapore. "Yuki didn’t perform well on Saturday," Mekies conceded. "Personally, I was pleased with his performance on Friday. It may not have seemed impressive at first glance, but if you analyzed his laps, he was at the right level. Saturday was disappointing. We need to collaborate with him to determine what went wrong there. His opening lap during the race was a complete disaster." Sky Deutschland pundit Ralf Schumacher agrees that Red Bull’s new leadership structure has revitalized the team’s performance. "One thing leads to another," he stated. "In football, you could be the best coach, but if you fail to connect with the team, issues arise. Perhaps that was the case a few months ago. The new team principal is an outstanding engineer. He understands what his employees want to contribute - and he brings everyone along with him," the former F1 race winner added.