Red Bull reveal clear-the-air talks with McLaren

Red Bull F1 team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed talks between the energy drink giants and McLaren after the rival squad nabbed yet another of their key staff.

Max Verstappen's F1 team is a shadow of what it once was during their dominant era in the sport, amid the Dutchman's run of four consecutive drivers' championship victories.

Verstappen's mighty efforts with Red Bull also helped them claim back-to-back constructors' titles in 2022 and 2023, but the key players from the team's winning days have now nearly all departed the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Adrian Newey is now team principal and managing technical partner at Aston Martin, Helmut Marko has 'retired' from F1, and Christian Horner was sacked last summer, now eager to make a return to the paddock.

And that's without even delving into the number of technical staff McLaren have poached from Red Bull such as Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton announces instant Ferrari change as champion sets out retirement terms

Red Bull clear McLaren tension after key staff poaching

The latest blow to the team now run by Mekies came during F1's spring break, when it was announced that Verstappen's long-time race engineer and ally Gianpiero Lambiase would be moving McLaren.

Despite Mekies saying at last weekend's Miami GP that Lambiase would become team principal at the papaya F1 squad, an official statement from McLaren confirmed in April that the Red Bull veteran affectionately known as GP will move teams no later than 2028, reporting to Andrea Stella as chief racing officer.

During the announcement of GP's future switch, McLaren couldn't help but include a sly dig at Red Bull, with a statement that read: "The team’s ability to attract and secure top talent, like Lambiase, and previously Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay, alongside the retention and promotion of highly-talented people already within the team, is a testament to the strategic vision and culture that are integrally embodied in the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, who are also both on long-term contracts."

But with such a long way to go until GP actually departs Red Bull, and constant talks over a move away from the team even earlier if McLaren can strike up a deal, the two rival squads risked a toxic back and forth over the signing.

However, speaking to media recently, Mekies confirmed that talks had taken place between Red Bull and McLaren to clear the air over the matter.

"I talk very often with Zak and with my other colleagues," Mekies revealed.

"But certainly, none of us wanted to go into a ping pong about it, and we had a good chat about it, like we always do, and we moved on."

The Frenchman then instead turned his attention to instilling faith in the talent that does remain at Red Bull, adding: "In terms of replacing GP, we have a couple of years to think about it.

"But jokes aside... Look, we are quite proud. As much as I have said many times, we don't want to be defensive about the fact that we lost some talent; it's a fact, and it's been there for three or four years.

"And, as a result of that, it's the highest priority in the team to make sure that we create the environment in order to retain, develop and attract the best talent in the pit lane.

"We feel we have the best talent already, department for department, and that starts with Ben [Hodgkinson] on the power unit side with his team, and with Pierre [Wache] on the chassis side and his team. And under them, we feel we have the best talent, department for department."

READ MORE: Lando Norris confused by Max Verstappen self-destruction: 'I don't get it'

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography