Red Bull Exposes their “Triple Advantage” with Max Verstappen Ahead of the 2026 Season

Red Bull is preparing in full-swing mode for the upcoming regulations in the 2026 season. Max Verstappen will be at the center of the development and hopes to continue his positive momentum from the previous year. The team recently fired longtime advisor Helmut Marko and has undergone massive changes in personnel. As such, with the commencement of the season right around the corner, the team principal, Laurent Mekies, reveals the ‘triple advantage’.

Laurent Mekies has helped Red Bull achieve a massive improvement from their poor state at the beginning of the 2025 season. The team underwent a massive personnel change, and this change might have been the key to improvement within the squad. Max Verstappen seems to be performing much better now, and he has high hopes for the coming season.

Speaking on Max Verstappen and his chances to succeed in the coming season, Laurent Mekies boldly claimed that Red Bull had a triple advantage, courtesy of the four-time champion. The first advantage stemming from Verstappen was his commitment to perform well and strive for the best results on track. Secondly, the 28-year-old’s feelings in the car and brain capacity would help the team deal with the issues and continue their development.

I think we have a triple advantage with Max, First of all, because of his commitment. Number two is his feeling in the car and the extra brain capacity he has in the car to deal with all those issues.

Laurent Mekies told De Telegraaf.

Max Verstappen is often applauded at Red Bull because of his exceptional ability to perform well despite all odds. Even in the 2025 season, Verstappen achieved a meteoric comeback from a deficit of over 104 points to ultimately lose the title by just two points to Lando Norris. As such, Laurent Mekies complimented how the Dutchman pushed the team in the right direction like no other driver on the grid. The four-time champion helped Milton Keynes achieve a significant boost in performance and extract maximum performance out of the car.

Finally, Max can push the team in the right direction like no other, which helps us get even more out of the car. He thus gives us a significant boost.

Laurent Mekies added.

Max Verstappen ‘excited’ to start new chapter with Red Bull in 2026

Following the disappointing title loss in the 2025 season, Max Verstappen will certainly be even hungrier to fight for it in the upcoming season. Given the new regulations, Verstappen might not be the dominant factor from the get-go. Regardless of the early warning, the 28-year-old asserted that he was excited to start the new chapter and once again go racing.

Max Verstappen pointed out that the team’s competitiveness was still ‘unknown’ because of the big changes in the power unit and car. Verstappen accepted that it will take time to get used to the changes. As such, it was important to get the most laps in during the testing sessions and make the most of them. The Dutchman was looking forward to returning to racing as the motivation was very high, and everyone was excited to get back.

It is all still a bit unknown, of course. The changes are big, with the power unit and car. For us as drivers it will take time to adjust initially. That’s why it is very important to get our laps in during the testing days and that we can optimize everything as well as possible. The motivation is very high. Everyone is ready and very excited to start this new chapter and I am as well.

Max Verstappen said via Verstappen.com.

Red Bull will partner with Ford for developing their own power units from the 2026 season. Certainly, it will be a big unknown for the team, as they have also accepted how the journey has been going, far from ideal. For now, Max Verstappen and Co. will hope for good things to happen in the coming season and keep up with the positive momentum they have built so far.

Read More: Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Max Verstappen’s Classy F1 Request

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