Oscar Piastri is not the driver in question, but the Austrian Grand Prix weekend has put Max Verstappen's Red Bull future back in focus. Laurent Mekies said there remains uncertainty over whether Verstappen will stay with Red Bull next season, and the team now has to prove its latest upgrade package can close the gap fast enough to keep the discussion from drifting further.
Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but he is understood to have an exit clause that would allow him to join another team in 2027 should he be outside the top two positions in the Drivers' Championship at the start of this season's summer break in August. He has taken only one podium finish across the first seven rounds and sits seventh in the standings, 60 points behind second-placed Lewis Hamilton.
Laurent Mekies in Spielberg
Speaking to the media between Friday's two practice sessions in Spielberg, Mekies made Red Bull's task plain. “Max wants a fast car, [he] always wanted a fast car. He completely trusts us in making sure we are doing everything we can, short-term and long-term, to ensure we return to success and continuous success.”
He also drew a line under the numbers that matter now: “We look at the results on the tracks, that's the only thing that matters. Hopefully the results will improve rapidly.” Red Bull brought a major upgrade package to the Austrian Grand Prix, and Mekies said the team hopes to be within the last two or three tenths from the competition after this weekend.
Red Bull's upgrade gap
The size of the step is the issue. Mekies said, “We started [the season] very far away. We have done that step in Miami four races ago that left us as you said around the four or five tenths threshold, which on some tracks allows us to fight for podium and on some tracks that has not allowed us to fight for podium.”
He added that this weekend is only part of the process: “Regardless of Max, that's not what we are here to do. We completely know that that we need more steps. This weekend is quite a crucial step to try to get much closer and try to fight for bigger positions.”
August deadline pressure
Mekies also flagged the timing. “It doesn't mean that everything will be resolved this weekend. It means that we will need a bit of time to get that package to work, it's very large.” He then tied Red Bull's progress to the wider driver-market picture without softening the pressure on the team itself: “Whether that is influencing a timing of discussions with Max, honestly, no. Max knows very well how much a Formula 1 team needs to absorb one second of deficit to competition.”
That leaves Red Bull with a simple job over the next stretch: make the upgrade package work, keep closing the gap, and get Verstappen closer to the front before the summer break in August. If the car does not move quickly enough, the clause he is understood to have gives the uncertainty a hard edge.
