Palmer: Mekies is turning Red Bull into a true two-car outfit — and Verstappen will feel it
Four races into the post-Horner era, Red Bull is starting to look… different. Not slower, not radically rebranded — just run with a slightly new rhythm. Jolyon Palmer reckons that rhythm is all Laurent Mekies, and it points to something Red Bull hasn’t always been famous for: a genuine two-car focus.
Speaking on F1 Nation, Palmer quipped that under Christian Horner “sometimes [he] barely knew he had a second driver in the field.” With Mekies now in charge after Horner’s shock exit following the British Grand Prix, Palmer believes Max Verstappen will notice the balance shifting — not away from him, but toward giving the other side of the garage a real say.
That “other side” is Yuki Tsunoda’s. And while the raw results haven’t yet turned the world upside down, the small signs are loud if you know where to look. Palmer pointed out Spa, where Tsunoda received an upgraded floor “just before qualifying” — something he suggests wouldn’t have happened previously — and promptly sliced the deficit to Verstappen to under four tenths as he reached Q3. Then Zandvoort: points again after a long drought. Incremental, yes. Meaningless, no.
This isn’t Red Bull going soft on the main act. Verstappen, who’s already confirmed he’ll remain with the team into next season, still runs the show. Palmer’s view is pragmatic: because this isn’t a title push year, nothing vital is being taken off Max’s plate. Spares? He hardly uses them. The trade-off is a team boss spending more time in the other garage and a car development plan that treats the second chassis as more than a data mule. Verstappen will feel that — and, frankly, he’ll probably be fine with it.
There’s a bigger picture here. Red Bull’s strength in recent years hasn’t been in doubt, but the gap between its lead car and the other has often told its own story. Mekies has arrived preaching patience and structure. He’s been explicit about the 2026 decision next to Verstappen: Red Bull will move on its own timeline. With Tsunoda fighting to lock that seat down — and the junior pool buzzing — there’s zero need to rush.
Isack Hadjar has elbowed his way into the conversation with a sharp rookie campaign at Racing Bulls, topped by that cool-headed podium at Zandvoort. Liam Lawson, shuffled back to Faenza after a brief Red Bull cameo early in the year, has responded with the steel you’d expect from a driver who knows he’s still one phone call away. It’s a healthy, slightly uncomfortable level of pressure for Tsunoda — exactly what a top team wants around its number two seat.
Mekies’ stance is classic Red Bull: all the options are in-house, all the drivers are under contract, and the decision makers can breathe. No courting, no panic. “Why would you put yourself under pressure based on the results of another?” he said when asked about a Hadjar promotion. That line says as much about the 2026 choice as it does about the way Red Bull intends to run the rest of this season.
The awkward question is whether this two-car reset risks diluting Verstappen’s orbit. Palmer doesn’t buy it, and neither should you. Max remains the axis of Red Bull’s next winning cycle; if anything, a properly supported teammate helps him — strategically, politically, even emotionally — especially as the new regulations loom. What Red Bull can’t afford is to arrive at 2026 with a one-legged operation when rivals are turning both cars into weapons.
So yes, the tone around the garage is shifting. The second cockpit is getting parts earlier, attention sooner, and a harder yardstick. Verstappen’s still Verstappen. The badge still says Red Bull. The difference is Mekies, quietly moving the furniture so the whole room works. If you’re Yuki Tsunoda, that’s an invitation. If you’re Isack Hadjar or Liam Lawson, it’s a challenge. And if you’re Max? It’s business as usual — just with a teammate who finally has a seat at the table.
