2025 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[Wouter]

Translated from a Dutch article about today at Monza:

Max Verstappen will remain in Monza with Red Bull Racing for an event two days after the Italian Grand Prix. Mario Isola, Pirelli's boss, has announced that the Dutchman will participate in a test for the 2026 Formula 1 tires at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
After each race, Pirelli's Isola reflects on the weekend's race regarding the tires. The Italian makes no secret of his high level of satisfaction with the tires during the Italian Grand Prix. "All in all, in evaluating the tire performance at this Grand Prix, I would say they were too good. It will be important for us to analyze the data very carefully to understand how we should continue developing the compounds for next year."
Verstappen and Red Bull to remain in Monza
The same report also stated that Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda, among others, will remain in Monza to complete a test for next year's tires. In 2026, the new Formula 1 regulations will take effect, so the tires will also need to be thoroughly tested. "In this context, it's worth noting that we'll be back at the Monza circuit in 48 hours for two days of testing with the 2026 tires.

On Tuesday, we'll be working with Red Bull Racing (Verstappen/Tsunoda) and Aston Martin (Drugovich), and the next day with Williams (Albon/Sainz) and Racing Bulls (Lawson/Hadjar)."

A busy week for Max (and Yuki). Testing in Monza, to the factory in Milton keynes in the sim and Max on Thursday evening to the Nürburgring for his drivers license for the Nordschleife.


Edit: Max, Hadjar and Drugovich on track this morning. Max is already flying home at this moment.

[Wouter]

[AR3-GP]

It was also notable that technical director Pierre Wache was sent to the podium. In essence, Mekies could have gone himself for his first win as team boss, but instead Wache – who has come under more public pressure than before, due to the car’s weaknesses – was pushed forward. Involving everyone in the success and sharing the spotlight fits with the approach so far. Wache visibly enjoyed his podium visit, meeting reporters behind the Red Bull garage after the ceremony with champagne still on his glasses.

This kind of ‘people management’ should not be underestimated in modern F1. It also fits a broader trend among the engineers at the helm. Stella at McLaren likewise puts the team in the limelight and always avoids claiming any credit himself. Whether Red Bull can now follow a path similar to McLaren remains to be seen. A lot will depend on its own power unit for 2026, and as Mekies has already admitted, that remains “a Mount Everest to climb”. But at Monza, the new direction that Red Bull wants to follow has at least delivered a small and unexpected moment of success, and that morale boost could prove important.

All things considered, Mekies’ contribution was certainly more than zero – but it is both admirable and, in a way, smart that he chose not to say so himself on Sunday night.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/zero- ... /10758119/

The fresh leadership is important for attracting and retaining the best engineers again.

[ME4ME]

Especially the retaining part, after Marko told them to "cheer up" and "work 10% harder" etc after Horners firing.