Red Bull boss rules out Verstappen influence over Racing Bulls' 2027 driver line-up

Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal Laurent Mekies has firmly stated that Max Verstappen will hold no influence over Racing Bulls’ 2027 driver line-up, following a tense on-track clash between Verstappen and Liam Lawson during second practice at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Both drivers were handed one-place grid penalties after making contact in Friday’s session. Verstappen was quick to voice his displeasure, telling media it was “not very smart behaviour” from Lawson — and pointedly noting the stakes involved. “If I were him I would act a little bit smarter. Also, when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour,” the Dutchman said.

Lawson’s contract with the Red Bull junior team runs until the end of 2026, making his future a live question. But Mekies moved swiftly to separate the on-track incident from any driver selection process. “You have to separate both aspects. You have some things that were very unnecessary on the track and therefore are frustrating for the drivers involved and frustrating for the teams involved — and this is probably what you hear with Max’s answer — and then there are driver decisions,” Mekies said. “Racing Bulls [driver line-up is] down to them and only down to them.”

Asked directly whether Verstappen could sway Racing Bulls’ choices, Mekies was equally unambiguous: “Max knows motorsport far too much to be influenced by a single episode anyway.”

Mekies also turned his attention to Red Bull’s wider weekend, acknowledging the team had been outpaced by the other top three constructors. “The other three top teams have been somehow extracting a bit more than us, but the weekend is not finished,” he said. “When things were very bad this morning, we were about three and a half tenths away. If we can close a bit of that gap, it should put us back in the mix.”