Max Verstappen has been even more heavily linked with a move from Red Bull to F1 rivals Mercedes since long-serving team boss Christian Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies

Laurent Mekies in his first press conference as Red Bull Racing boss(Image: Getty Images)

Laurent Mekies has admitted his highest priority as new Red Bull boss is making sure Max Verstappen stays. The Frenchman is only the second team principal in Red Bull’s entire Formula 1 history after replacing the ousted Christian Horner, who spent 20 years in charge.

And he inherits the role at a time when star driver Verstappen is considering quitting for rivals Mercedes. The Dutchman’s streak of title successes is all-but certain to end this year and he wants to be in the quickest car he can find in 2026.

Mekies knows his single most important job in the short term is to make sure the four-time F1 champion doesn’t think the grass will be greener elsewhere. “I’m sure Max wants a fast car and if we get him a fast car, I’m sure it’s cancelling out all the other considerations,” he said in his first press conference as Red Bull boss at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday.

“So really the focus is very much to try to get to know the team as quickly as possible in order to see how we can support, how we can build the next step of competitiveness in order to get a fast car and hence to make it an easy call for Max.”

Verstappen’s decision has also left George Russell sweating over his Mercedes future. The Brit is leading the charge for the Silver Arrows on track and has enjoyed an excellent season so far, but is out of contract at the end of this year.

So is rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli, but Mercedes have high hopes for the teenager and so Russell is the one most likely to be axed if they manage to lure Verstappen. The 27-year-old said on Thursday that it is “unlikely” he will get a contract extension before the summer break.

Team boss Toto Wolff, however, said in Belgium yesterday that the “largest of probabilities” is that Mercedes’ driver pairing will remain unchanged for 2026. “Nothing is 100 percent, [but] this is going to be the line-up for next year,” he said.

Russell’s situation is made all the more strange by the face Mercedes also serve as his management team. That should have made negotiations a breeze, but Wolff hinted that Russell has been demanding more than he has been willing to sign off on up to now.

The Austrian said: “[The media] make a lot of pressure, because it’s an interesting topic. But it’s completely normal that we have these negotiations and discussions. Every driver wants a better car and more money, that’s completely normal behaviour and that’s not going to be the crucial point.

“He’s now triggered the whole media avalanche. It’s maybe naïve, but I try to be transparent with the drivers and I said to him, ‘Listen, I have the obligation of exploring what Max is going to do in the next few years’. I think he just came out with it to show, ‘I’m aware of what’s going on, there’s nothing going on behind my back and I’m fine with it’.”