Overview

• Mekies assumed team principal duties on July 9 alongside Helmut Marko and Oliver Mintzlaff following Christian Horner’s abrupt mid-season exit.
• Staff at the Milton Keynes factory report low morale after tone-deaf directives from new leadership prompted jokes about ‘smiling more,’ with some employees threatening to quit.
• Mekies must address Max Verstappen’s contract uncertainty, facing speculation the four-time champion could be tempted by Mercedes.
• Red Bull sits fourth in the constructors’ standings as the RB20 struggles for pace, intensifying pressure for a performance turnaround before the Belgian Grand Prix.
• He also faces the challenge of stemming a wave of senior technical and managerial departures that have weakened the team’s cohesion.