The structure of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend naturally focused a lot on the departure of Christian Horner from Red Bull Racing, and the impact that would have on the team and the row on the driver.
From the first moment Max Verstappen spoke with the media, it became clear that there was more transparency in his comments. As explained last weekThe vague side party of questions was replaced by in -depth answers, and there was even a mention of his original intention to view his career at Red Bull when he signed his last contract.
That is an intention that still feels far from sure in the long term, but with regard to an immediate departure, it seems that Verstappen will remain at least before 2026. A statement attributed to team adviser Helmut Marko claims as such: clauses with performance -related contract release are supposed to be canceled around the Hungarian Grand Prix, and Verstappen is guaranteed third in the driver’s championship on the way to the summer shutdown.
Add the concept that conversations between Mercedes and George Russell are about a multi-year expansion in a positive direction, and it seems increasingly likely that-as Verstappen would move, it would be in 2027 and would combine with Russell as part of a very seductive line-up, instead of replacing the Brit.
The discussions between Verstappen and Mercedes were made public by Russell and clearly did not go very well with Horner prior to his resignation. The former team director emphasized the lack of performance and problems of Mercedes in Austria, when the future of Verstappen was the center of growing speculation.
There was always another dynamic in the game when it came to the driver contracts, given the history between Red Bull and Mercedes. 2021 was the Nadir, but set the tone for continuous tension between Horner and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, perhaps the best encapsulated by Horner’s inputic suggestion to Wolff to “change your f *** ING car” who was caught by Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” a year later.
While the focus on Verstappen and his future continued in Spa-Francorchamps, and in the midst of the growing chance that there will be no movement in the coming 12 months, Belgium offered an interesting chance for a reset in the Red Bull and Mercedes relationship.
New Team Head and CEO Laurent Mekies does not have the same history with Wolff as Horner. The couple will have crossed paths when Mekies at the FIA and deputy team head was at Ferrari – more than his most recent spell at Racing Bulls – but he did not have the same position or rivalry that could evolve from his new role.
So there was an interesting event in the past weekend in Belgium, because Mekies was invited to Mercedes by Wolff for a meeting on Saturday evening after qualifying.
It was hardly subtle when Mekies walked through a busy paddock and immediately walked into the Mercedes -Camper, while I was still broadcasting in SiriusXM – while many other broadcasters have still been live – and tried to catch interviews. At that time, the movement of a team director will probably always be monitored, because you often have the intention of entering into them.
The fact that he did not come for half an hour and had to end the meeting on time to reach the post-qualifying debrief also suggested some in-depth discussions.
It was also noticed by at least one rival team boss, partly because it was so rare that the predecessor of Mekies and the Mercedes team team director have a while outside of group situations. A joke and a photo put aside by Geri Horner in Abu Dhabi aside, I can’t remember time that I saw Horner or Wolff walking into the camper of the other, and certainly not when it was for something other than a wider group meeting.
While rivals are on the right track, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have reason to make a common cause. Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty images
They may not be both ultimately to sell the same product, but Mercedes and Red Bull have more in common than you could consider as Formula 1 teams, and Wolff felt an extension of an olive branch at the start of the next era of the latter favor for both.
In 2026, Red Bull will join Mercedes, Ferrari and newcomers Audi as the only teams that produce their own chassis and power units. As such, those four are in a position other than the other 10 (or 11 of next year) teams in the grid, when it comes to future instructions of regulations and costs.
At a time when there is uncertainty about future directions for power units after the regulations of 2026, and both Wolff and Mekies thought it would be in their best interest to understand what the intentions and preferences of the other person are for sport as a whole.
It is the kind of relationship that Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur already has with Wolff, and there is a positive between McLaren and both Ferrari and Mercedes on that front. Red Bull has been a bit of a biter under Horner, where there was a different level of cooperation on broader topics off-track.
Having a better working relationship can be important in the coming years, given the F1 teams and drivers who are sometimes confronted with challenges in dealing with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
But otherwise it is always important for the most important stakeholders of the sport to come together on larger articles. That does not mean that they will always agree or want the same things, but if there is a clear understanding of what the preferences or requirements of each team are, it offers a better chance that progress is made in what often combat environments can be.
Teams will always fight hard on the right track, and no love would be lost if Red Bull would eventually lose Verstappen to Mercedes in 2027 or after. But the change in leadership in Milton Keynes has offered the opportunity for a more amicable dynamic off-track dynamics, and the two team bosses wasted no time to start it in Belgium.
Until they fight each other again for championships, that relationship has a better chance of stepping on a stronger foot.
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