The recent appointment of Laurent Mekies as Red Bull Racing’s new team principal has excited the Formula 1 world, largely because of the pressing challenge he must address immediately: the future of Max Verstappen. Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer warned Mekies on the F1 Nation podcast that he must “work immediately” to retain the four-time world champion, who is linked with a move to Mercedes. Verstappen, who is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, has clauses in his agreement that already give him the option to leave this summer. With the recent resignation of Christian Horner and the exodus of other key figures such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, there is enormous pressure on Mekies to keep the star driver on board and stabilize the team dynamic.

This season, Verstappen has been Red Bull’s backbone, with almost all of the team’s points from Milton Keynes to his name, save for just seven. His exceptional achievements, such as pole position at Silverstone, have kept Red Bull competitive despite fielding an inferior car. Palmer stressed that Verstappen is currently the glue holding the team together, especially now that the old management watchdog is largely gone. With only advisor Helmut Marko left as a prominent figure from the old structure, retaining Verstappen is vital to maintaining Red Bull’s position at the top. Speculation surrounding a potential move to Mercedes, fueled by talks between Verstappen, his manager Raymond Vermeulen, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, makes the situation even more urgent.

Rumors about Verstappen’s future have intensified in recent weeks, partly due to Red Bull’s disappointing performance and Horner’s sudden exit. According to reports via X like @MV33Racing, Mercedes would be willing to pay a capitulation sum of 102 million euros to part ways with Verstappen, with the approval of Ola Källenius, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz. Although Verstappen has been publicly cautious about the speculation, as he indicated in an interview with ESPN in which he said that ‘nothing has changed from his side’, uncertainty remains great. In particular, the presence of Verstappen’s yacht ‘unleashed the lion’ and Wolff’s superyacht in speculation with Sardinia -Fed about secret negotiations, which Wolff has already refused direct talks for 2026 in Jeddah. The sportsman .

Mekies, who succeeds Horner after his 20-year helm, represents a significant challenge. Palmer highlighted that developing drivers is a priority in addition to Verstappen’s contract. The second driver, with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson as possible candidates, remains a question mark. Mekies’ experience with Tsunoda at Racing Bulls may be an advantage here, but the focus is primarily on retaining Verstappen. Palmer highlighted that Verstappen’s racing engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is likely to play a more central role due to his strong bond with the driver. This dynamic is important, especially now that Red Bull is struggling with a car that isn’t living up to expectations, partly due to a late start to a new wind tunnel that wasn’t ready until 2026, as reported by F1maximaal.nl .

The situation is complicated by the rivalry between Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell, who is out of contract for 2026 and recently revealed in Canada that “current discussions” between Wolff and Verstappen are underway. This has led to speculation about a possible driver swap, as Ralf Schumacher suggested on Sky Sport Germany. Despite Wolff’s recent pronouncement that the chance of Verstappen’s arrival for 2026 is “very low,” PlanetF1 continues to monitor the situation given Verstappen’s status as a four-time world champion. Wolff emphasized his satisfaction with Russell and Kimi Antonelli, but did not rule out a future collaboration with Verstappen after 2026.

For Mekies, it’s a race against the clock. The Belgian Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1 from July 25-27, marks a crucial time before the summer break when Verstappen’s release clause, which comes with a top-two position in the championship, can be activated. With McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri dominating the title fight, as Helmut Marko darkly noted on oe24 , Red Bull’s understanding of both the driver’s and constructor’s titles is in doubt. Mekies must not only win Verstappen’s trust, but also rebuild a team that appears to be losing its dominant era. The Formula 1 world looks tense as to whether he can keep hold of the star driver or whether Verstappen will look elsewhere to further his horizons