Red Bull defends Verstappen and Hadjar

Red Bull’s problem right now is not just pace. It’s narrative. A slow-ish start to 2026 has turned every Verstappen quote into an exit rumor and every bad weekend in the second car into another “curse” story. So after Miami, Laurent Mekies stepped in and did two things at once — he publicly shut down doubts about Max Verstappen’s commitment, and he told everyone to calm down about Isack Hadjar. ### Why did Red Bull need to say this now? Miami was the kind of weekend that makes a nervous paddock louder. Verstappen showed signs of life with a stronger qualifying and recovery drive, but the car still didn’t look like the class of the field. Hadjar, meanwhile, had a messier weekend that ended with a crash and a lot of visible frustration. That gave the outside noise an easy target. ### What did Mekies say about Verstappen? The important bit was not subtle. Mekies said Verstappen is “fully committed” and “at the heart of the project.” That is Red Bull trying to stop a familiar spiral before it starts — bad result, tense radio, then a week of stories about Mercedes, Aston Martin, or whoever else might tempt him next. The message was simple: yes, Verstappen is frustrated by the 2026 package, but no, Red Bull does not think he is halfway out the door. ### Why are people even questioning Verstappen’s future? Because Verstappen’s future is always a live story when Red Bull looks vulnerable. He is the team’s competitive center of gravity, and if the car slips from title level to merely decent, every rival starts circling. Mekies has basically admitted the team’s late push in 2025 hurt the starting point for 2026, which helps explain why this season has felt more reactive than dominant. (motorsport.com) ### What happened with Hadjar in Miami? Hadjar’s weekend unraveled in layers. He started from the pit lane after a technical infringement on the team side, then crashed out of the race after trying to fight back. Mekies’ defense matters because he did not pin the whole thing on the rookie. He said mistakes on both sides fed into the disaster, which is Red Bull’s way of saying this was not some clean verdict on Hadjar’s level. (sports.yahoo.com) ### So why isn’t Red Bull worried? Because one ugly weekend is not the same as a broken driver. Mekies’ view is that Hadjar had actually started solidly in the senior team before Miami went sideways. Red Bull seems to think the bigger issue was a weekend that snowballed — setup trouble, pit-lane start, then a driver pushing too hard to recover. Basically, that is the kind of mess a team can absorb if it still believes the underlying pace is there. (motorsport.com) ### Why did the reaction get so much attention? Because Hadjar did not hide it. He was visibly angry after the crash, and Nelson Piquet Jr. piled on by calling the reaction childish. In Formula 1, emotion from a young driver in a top seat gets judged as weakness almost instantly — especially at Red Bull, where the second car has chewed through reputations for years. (motorsport.com) ### Is this really about one race? Not really. This is about Red Bull trying to keep two separate stories from merging into one crisis. If Verstappen looks unconvinced and Hadjar looks overwhelmed at the same time, the team starts to feel unstable. Mekies is trying to stop that impression before the next race weekend even begins. ### What’s the bottom line? Red Bull is asking for patience — with its car, with Hadjar, and with Verstappen’s mood. But the catch is obvious: reassurance only holds if results improve. (msn.com) If the car keeps leaving Verstappen exposed and the second seat keeps wobbling, the noise Mekies is trying to quiet will get much louder.