Red Bull Racing marked one year since Christian Horner's shock removal on 9 July 2025, ending a 20-year tenure that delivered two dominant championship dynasties. Laurent Mekies, promoted from Racing Bulls, inherited a team of over 1,000 staff and chose evolution over revolution. His engineering-focused approach — asking precise questions rather than issuing edicts — helped unlock solutions to the RB21's handling woes, allowing Max Verstappen to pressure McLaren deep into the 2025 season.

The larger test looms in 2026. Red Bull Ford Powertrains, led by former Mercedes engineer Ben Hodgkinson, produced a potent V6 but lags on the electric side. The FIA ruled Red Bull's engine the most powerful on the grid, triggering an upgrade freeze that the team has contested unsuccessfully. Horner's political instincts are absent as Red Bull navigates manufacturer politics for the first time.

The second-seat curse appears broken. Isack Hadjar, graduated from the junior programme, qualified third in Melbourne and scored a Monaco podium before a penalty. Yet both drivers now grapple with identical balance issues, reigniting speculation over Verstappen's future. Meanwhile, a brain drain accelerates: Helmut Marko sidelined, Gianpiero Lambiase bound for McLaren in 2028, and Paul Monaghan departing for Cadillac.

Mekies' mandate remains unchanged from Horner's era: deliver the fastest car. If he cannot convince Verstappen that 2026 machinery will win, no organisational chart or engineering tweak will matter. The Austrian owner's gamble on collective leadership over singular authority now faces its defining verdict.