As Racing Bulls shifts closer to Red Bull in 2026, key questions rise on tech synergies, team identity and future performance.
Racing Bulls’ start to the season could be described as both promising and frustrating. As Red Bull’s sister (or junior) team, they showed solid pace in the early races, but that speed hasn’t translated into significant points.
The team currently sits 8th in the Constructors’ standings, trailing Haas and Aston Martin.
Adding to the challenge, the team saw a driver swap early in the year. Yuki Tsunoda left after two races to replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull, with Lawson making the return trip. Around the same time, Racing Bulls shut down their Bicester base to relocate next to Red Bull in Milton Keynes.
In an interview with Planet F1, team principal Laurent Mekies shared updates on Racing Bulls’ ongoing transformation.
“We’ve made a lot of changes over the last 14 months, since we got the green light to move forward with the project,” he said.
“We’re moving fast, making mistakes, correcting them quickly, and pushing on.”
“Looking back after 14 or 15 months, you think, ‘We’ve already done so much,’ but really, the focus is always on what’s next. You never feel like you’re settling in.”
“The encouraging part is the project feels alive. We’ve built a real identity, there’s a special atmosphere around the team right now, and people are starting to come together after all the changes.”
“There are lots of new faces, people in new roles, and organizational challenges. But it’s coming together. That said, we know there’s still a big step ahead if we want to reach our goals.”
On the staffing side, Racing Bulls lost their technical director Jody Egginton earlier this year, as he moved to Red Bull Advanced Technologies to head engineering. But Mekies remains confident in the team’s technical leadership.
“We believe we have a very strong technical lineup with Tim [Goss, Chief Technical Officer], Guillaume [Cattelani, Car Performance], and Andrea Landi [Car Design],” he said.
“We’ve got Alan [Permane] trackside and many others who’ve stepped into new roles, either from within the company or from outside.”
“We’re confident in the talent we have across Faenza and Milton Keynes. What we need now is for those people to gel. We’re not going to beat other midfield teams by outspending them or by being bigger, that’s not realistic.”
“Our opportunity is to stay simple, precise, and focused. That means human connection, interpersonal chemistry, is our key asset.”
“That’s why we’ve spent so much time building the right level of harmony, spirit, and energy inside the team. We want to stay lean, direct, and obsessed with performance. No finger-pointing, no nonsense, that’s our mindset.”
What to expect in 2026?
If Racing Bulls end the season in 8th place, there will be at least one upside: more wind tunnel and CFD time for 2026, just as the next major rule reset kicks off.
What’s not talked about much is that, like Red Bull, Racing Bulls will also be switching to the new Red Bull Powertrains–Ford power unit next season, and that unit has raised a few eyebrows over its potential competitiveness.
So where does Laurent Mekies see the team landing in 2026? Is he concerned about a lost year?
“The truth is, nobody really knows where everyone else is,” he said.
“You run simulations under these new rules, and you see a massive drop in performance. Then you start clawing it back at a certain rate, hoping you’re not too far off from where the others are.”
“But there’s no way to benchmark that. So I don’t think anyone feels confident right now.”
“On top of that, there’s the balancing act between allocating resources for 2025 versus 2026. And as you’ve seen, the midfield this year is absolutely wild. Pretty much anything behind the top four is midfield now.”
“If you’re off by a tenth or a tenth and a half, you could go multiple races without scoring a single point. So it’s a tough trade-off.”
What about the Red Bull synergies?
Now that Racing Bulls shares a campus with Red Bull in Milton Keynes, the long-running question of technical synergies is back. Will the team copy as much as it’s allowed from the 2026 Red Bull?
“From a synergy standpoint, we’re where we want to be. Within what the regulations allow, we share the components we’re permitted to share,” Mekies said.
“But really, the focus is on the areas that aren’t covered by synergies, the parts we design and build ourselves, whether in Faenza or Milton Keynes. That’s where we need to take the next step if we want a performance breakthrough.”
“The synergy question was settled pretty early in the process.”
Still, Mekies remains vague. Will 2026 reveal deeper ties that force rival teams to take notice?
A smooth leadership dynamic with Peter Bayer
Unlike the apparent tensions at Audi, Racing Bulls seems to enjoy a well-functioning relationship between its team principal, Laurent Mekies, and CEO, Peter Bayer. Mekies handles sporting matters, Bayer focuses on the commercial side.
“My relationship with Peter is fantastic,” Mekies said. “Honestly, it’s been easy since day one because we knew each other beforehand.”
“But it’s also fair to say it’s grown richer over the past year. We’ve got well-defined responsibilities. We both know there’s so much to handle in our respective areas that the last thing you want is to get distracted by someone else’s turf.”
“But at the same time, we respect each other enough to be able to consult behind closed doors, challenge one another’s decisions, and grow as leaders.”
“I honestly don’t think it could be going any better. It’s a pretty unique leadership model, I don’t see any other F1 team with a CEO and team principal sharing the load equally. But it’s working extremely well for us.”
“I also don’t believe you need to change your personality as you climb the ladder. It’s all about your people. All you have to do is treat your people well, every single day.”
“To me, it’s not about leadership styles, it’s about leadership. You can have a million styles, but what really matters is whether you’re putting your people in the best position to succeed.”
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