Red Bull brass holds crisis talks on Verstappen's jet after China woes

Following a disastrous Chinese Grand Prix where Max Verstappen struggled for pace and retired, key Red Bull Racing leadership, including Team Principal Laurent Mekies, Technical Director Pierre Waché, and Verstappen’s inner circle, held an impromptu meeting on the reigning champion’s private jet. The urgent gathering, which caused Mekies to cancel his scheduled media duties, signals deep internal concern over the team’s current performance and car issues ahead of a critical phase in the season.

Why it matters:

This private, high-level summit underscores the severity of Red Bull's current challenges. With Verstappen openly critical of the car's handling and the team facing a significant performance deficit to rivals like McLaren and Ferrari, immediate solutions are needed to prevent their championship defense from unraveling. The involvement of Verstappen’s personal manager, Raymond Vermeulen, also highlights the driver's central role in the team's strategic discussions during a crisis.

The details:

• The meeting was convened hours after the Chinese GP, where Verstappen qualified nearly a second off pole, faced a 1.7-second gap in the Sprint, and retired from the race with a technical failure.
• Attendees on Verstappen's jet included Team Principal Laurent Mekies, Technical Director Pierre Waché, Head of Racing Gianpiero Lambiase, and Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen.
• Mekies canceled his post-race media session, citing a need to catch a flight, but was later seen boarding Verstappen's private aircraft, suggesting the meeting was a prioritized, urgent matter.
• Verstappen had previously pinpointed the car's lack of grip, poor balance, and chronic race-start issues as fundamental problems with the RB20.

What's next:

The pressure is now on Red Bull's technical team to identify and implement fixes before the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, a circuit that will brutally expose any car's weaknesses.

• While the team issued a standard press release with optimistic remarks from Mekies, the jet meeting reveals a more urgent, behind-the-scenes reality.
• Suzuka, with its high-speed sweeps and demanding nature, will be the ultimate test of whether Red Bull has understood its car's flaws and can deliver a competitive package to get Verstappen back to winning ways.