- Red Bull secures first 2026 podium while battling internal set-up tensions.
- Verstappen claims Canada podium despite Red Bull ignoring his car feedback.
- Mekies defends Red Bull experimentation after chaotic Canadian Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s first Formula 1 podium of 2026 has ended the team’s ongoing concerns about its car. Instead, it has exposed how much the team still relies on Max Verstappen’s feedback while trying to work out what this new-rules era really means for the cars.
Team principal Laurent Mekies defended the team’s willingness to keep taking set-up risks even after Verstappen made clear in Canada that he felt the team had ignored his preferred direction.
Red Bull’s best result of the year
Speaking to Motorsport.com after the Canadian Grand Prix, Mekies said those moments of internal tension are part and parcel of Red Bull’s process rather than a sign of a deeper split. Verstappen had already admitted after qualifying that he had raised concerns about the set-up direction, only to let the team continue, even when it felt like the choice was not working.
But, to put it into context, Sunday still ended with Red Bull’s best result of the year so far. Verstappen recovered from sixth on the grid to finish third in Montreal, and the Dutchman made clear afterwards that he believes Red Bull can do more despite finally reaching the podium.
It was the clearest sign yet that Red Bull’s 2026 recovery is still a work-in-progress. The podium in Canada was useful, but it did not come with the kind of surety and confidence fans usually associate with Verstappen and Red Bull.
Max was quite open about the fact that McLaren’s failed opening tyre call and George Russell’s retirement helped him get on to the podium. Mekies, meanwhile, effectively confirmed that Red Bull are still in live experimentation mode.
For F1 fans, that makes Red Bull one of the most interesting teams to watch heading into Monaco. The car looks closer to the front than it did earlier in the season, but the team still appear unsure where its absolute sweet spot is.
When Verstappen says one thing and the engineers try another, that tells the story of a team that is improving but which is still searching for some answers.
No luck for McLaren, nor for one half of Mercedes
Canada was an odd weekend for the championships’ frontrunners. Kimi Antonelli won for Mercedes after a fierce early fight with Russell, who later retired, while Lewis Hamilton took second for Ferrari after passing Verstappen late on. The McLarens both struggled with Norris breaking down and Piastri finishing down in 11th and out of the points.
That left Verstappen with his first podium of the season, a result that looked encouraging on paper but still had caveats. Red Bull had improved from a difficult qualifying, but Verstappen’s own reaction was hardly triumphant. He described the result as positive while also saying the team had been closer to the front over the last two weekends and still needed to understand where more grip could be found.
Mekies pushed the story a step further by arguing that Red Bull needs those occasional “I told you” moments with Verstappen if it is going to learn quickly under the new regs. That was a revealing admission from a team that built its recent success on giving Verstappen a car built around him.
The windy street of Monaco
The next big test, as mentioned, is the Monaco Grand Prix on June 5-7, where confidence in corner entry and traction matters more than raw pace.
If Red Bull arrive there still treating weekends as experiments, the Verstappen-Mekies dynamic will be under strain. If the team settles on a clearer direction and Verstappen feels more aligned with the set-up from the start, Canada may end up looking like a stepping stone rather than a warning sign.
