Mekies admits ’car degradation’ problem will linger

Laurent Mekies has admitted Red Bull still does not fully understand the "car degradation" problem Max Verstappen has been complaining about, with the issue now likely to remain into 2027.

Verstappen has joked that while rivals suffer tyre degradation, Red Bull suffers "car degradation", with performance disappearing during sessions and races as the RB22 begins behaving unpredictably.

After Madrid, where Verstappen ruled out any late-season championship comeback, Mekies acknowledged the problem is real.

"Max is right when he says we have some form of car degradation during a session or a race," he said.

"He’s also right when he says it’s not a new problem."

Mekies refused to reveal the exact cause.

"I’m not going to explain here what the problem is and how we’re going to solve it," said the Red Bull team boss. "We have tried to solve this problem in different ways."

"I obviously see it as a complex problem, otherwise we would have already solved it."

He said Red Bull made some progress in Madrid, but not enough to remove the underlying weakness.

"The solution will not come soon," said the Frenchman, "so this is likely to play a role until next year."

It helps to explain why Verstappen, despite famous late-season comebacks in the past, was blunt after Madrid.

"I’m definitely not having a comeback," said the Dutchman.

His father Jos Verstappen nevertheless says he is happy with Mekies’ leadership following Red Bull’s major management changes.

"I have to say that Laurent is a very positive person," he told Play Sports.

"He’s a nice guy who’s open to communication. I think that is very important."

Jos also believes Mekies’ engineering background is an advantage.

"Team bosses who have a background as an engineer understand more about what is going on with the cars and with the team."

He denied that Verstappen’s camp demanded greater control through the Christian Horner saga and before Max committed to Red Bull through 2030.

"It’s not so much that we wanted to have a say or impact," Verstappen snr insisted.

"Max just feels really good about Red Bull. We hope that next year we will be a little more competitive and that we can compete for wins again."

Meanwhile, Mekies says Red Bull is also still unable to confirm whether Isack Hadjar will return in Baku after missing Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid with his wrist injury.

"It’s not about us wanting to keep anything secret," he said.

"We’re simply using the available time. We’ll do the final examination the week before Baku and then see what we do."