Red Bull chiefs meet on Verstappen’s private jet after disastrous weekend

That things need to improve at Red Bull is clear. Verstappen is already not a fan of the new Formula 1 cars, but during the F1 weekend in China he also struggled with grip, balance, and getting off the line in his RB22. In qualifying he had to concede nearly a second to the fastest time; in sprint qualifying the gap was up to 1.7 seconds. To make matters worse, he had to retire from the race due to a technical problem. The Dutchman made it clear afterwards how he felt about it as well.

Notably, Mekies canceled his post-race media session. Normally, a chat with the team boss is always scheduled in the hours after a race, but this time the Frenchman skipped it. The stated reason was that he had to catch his flight, but hours later he boarded the four-time world champion’s plane at the same time as Verstappen.

It’s unlikely that Verstappen’s private jet would have departed without team boss Mekies, so whether he really had to rush to catch the flight is questionable. In any case, they did not choose to move the media session forward, which could have been a possible alternative. However, no concrete conclusion can be drawn from this.

What is certain is the presence of several key figures from the Austrian outfit. After Verstappen and Mekies, technical director Pierre Waché, Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen, and Head of Racing Gianpiero Lambiase also boarded the plane. The aircraft departed a few hours after the end of the race.

It’s unclear what exactly was discussed on Verstappen’s private jet, but there was undoubtedly no shortage of talking points. Although Red Bull issued a press release with encouraging statements from Mekies, the team is clearly not where it wants to be at the moment. Whether improvements can be found in the lead-up to the Japanese GP will become apparent in just under two weeks when Formula 1 heads to Suzuka.