F1 driver market: Red Bull getting calls from ‘good drivers’ says Laurent Mekies but optimistic about Max Verstappen’s stay | F1 News

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has suggested they have received calls from “good drivers” about possible seats in the team but believes they will make the necessary further progress to ensure Max Verstappen stays.

As Formula 1 prepares for its final race before the summer break in Hungary this weekend, the future of Verstappen’s Red Bull beyond this season remains unclear.

His contract runs until the 2028 season but contains clauses that could allow him to leave at the end of this year. It is thought he will be given until October to inform the club if he wishes to terminate the deal.

Last month it emerged that the Dutchman’s representatives had spoken to McLaren, although Zak Brown has made it clear that “I have two drivers of my own” in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers are also under contract, which appears to limit Verstappen’s short-term options beyond Red Bull, should he choose to stay in F1, until 2027.

As it is considered normal that Verstappen’s representatives will be able to choose their driver elsewhere, Mekies was asked Sky Sports F1 in the Belgian Grand Prix, whether his team had also received inquiries from drivers in other places on the grid.

“It works both ways,” Mekies replied. “It’s completely natural and I think that’s what we were reporting earlier.

“It is absolutely natural that Max is called by everyone because he is the best driver in the world and, equally, if you are a top team, you will get calls from many of these good drivers as well. That is natural.

“Does it bother us? Not really. The main focus is to get that car as quickly as possible, you will keep your best driver in the world and we see that there is a lot of growth for Isack. [Hadjar] next to Max.

“That for us is a perfect pairing and we’re trying to make sure we can keep that pairing.”

Mekies is confident that Red Bull will achieve its continued ambition to close the gap left at the front of the field after steps forward since the start of the season in the new era of F1 rules.

Since the RB22’s three-race best at the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen has finished on the podium in two of the last three races, although he endured a difficult Silverstone where he exited late due to a rear-end fault.

Isack Hadjar finished sixth from 21st on the grid last weekend in Belgium to extend his streak of top six finishes to six races.

“What we have to do is continue to improve with the car,” said Mekies.

“We started the season by more than one second and I don’t think that should surprise us.

“I think it’s a product of how late the title push came last year – a product of how late it was to push the title last year, a product of the incredible challenge of the new power unit.

“We started on the back foot but these guys did it again. We were more than a second behind and now we’re talking about the last two or three stages of top speed.

“If you’re one second away, the drivers will be frustrated, Max will be frustrated. And we know it’s not a position we want to stay in.

“To your point, the best way to close the title is to go and get these last two or three tenths and that’s what everyone’s focused on.”

Red Bull have seen the departure of key numbers consistent with their previous title-winning success over the past two years, with Verstappen’s race engineer and key partner, Gianpiero Lambiase, heading to McLaren no later than 2028.

Asked how that sense of ‘change’ in the team marries with efforts to keep Verstappen, Mekies said: “It’s a lot easier than it seems, because in the end it’s only about speed.

“Red Bull and Red Bull Racing have only one goal, to win, and it’s the same goal that Max has.

“So, there is no question, how can we show him that we can win. We are here to win no matter what.

“It’s the same group of people who made amazing changes last year, which happened a few months ago. It’s the same group of people, although that push was late, they managed to absorb almost one second from our competitors, and they weren’t waiting for us in these first races.

“Now we are in the strongest part of it, the last tenth, which is very difficult to achieve, but what we need to do is to continue working as a united team, and that is how we will produce the best results.”

Formula 1 heads to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime