(Motorsport-Total.com) – The contract extension with Max Verstappen means much more for Red Bull Racing than just securing the fastest driver on the grid. For team principal Laurent Mekies, the world champion’s stay forms the foundation for a new era of success in Milton Keynes. With the four-time world champion, further top personnel are now to be attracted.
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Mekies, who took office in July last year, pursues a three-pillar plan. Besides the driver and strategic major projects such as the new wind tunnel and Red Bull Ford’s own engine division, personnel forms the crucial second pillar.
After the departures of prominent key figures like Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Rob Marshall, Adrian Newey, and Jonathan Wheatley, the Verstappen deal is now intended to serve as a magnet for engineers and specialists.
In response to Motorsport.com Global, the English-language sister edition of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, Mekies explains the enormous impact of the contract extension on the search for top personnel.
“It is of enormous importance. The good people – and at the end of the day, that’s all you are interested in – have the choice. They have the choice because they are very, very good at what they do. Just as Max had to decide which team to commit to, they also have the choice to look left or right,” says Mekies.
The champion’s stay sends a fundamental signal to potential newcomers and existing personnel: “We are all united by only one thing: we want to win. And if you can say that the fastest driver in the world, who is more than just a driver for the team, is with us, then that is a huge element of stability.”
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“It is a huge element of motivation. Then everyone understands that everything else is built only with this one goal, to win.” (Overview Formula 1 drivers 2027)
Verstappen himself views the situation in the factory calmly despite the prominent personnel departures and emphasizes the team spirit: “You name five people out of about 2,000 or however many there are. It is as Laurent also said: It is real teamwork.”
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“Of course, some names have left the team, but at the same time, it is still my family. I have never felt the need or necessity to switch to another team to try to win elsewhere. If I feel comfortable here in the team, why should I?”
Tom Hart stays because of Verstappen
How great the Dutchman’s influence on internal structures and retaining specialists already is, is shown by the example of his future race engineer. As a successor to Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen favored his previous performance engineer Tom Hart.
Hart was already set to move to Williams as race engineer for Alexander Albon. The world champion’s wish ultimately led to Hart being retained and working alongside Verstappen from the upcoming season.
Mekies emphasizes that the superstar’s stay also brings a lot of responsibility: “It is a huge vote of confidence that Max has given the team with this decision. We do not take this lightly. With this trust comes enormous responsibility to live up to it and to be able to provide him with the best package for the coming years.”
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“Max is much more to us than just the fastest driver in the world. He is a central point for the team, to which we refer in all strategic decisions. And knowing that he will be with us to build this next winning cycle is phenomenal.”
At the same time, the Frenchman warns against using the contract success as a pillow. “We must not use it as an excuse,” Mekies emphasizes. “It is a very big plus, but we still have to work on all the other things so that we can continue to develop and bring in all the talents we need.”
The focus is now fully on long-term development to put together the remaining puzzle pieces for the next phase of dominance.
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