\u201cThe truth is\u201d that Red Bull has a \u201cvery good relationship\u201d with McLaren\u2019s leadership duo Zak Brown and Andrea Stella.<\/p>\n
That is the claim made by Red Bull<\/a> Racing boss Laurent Mekies, after McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown bluntly stated that Formula 1 will be in a \u201chealthier\u201d state with Mekies at the helm rather than Christian Horner.\u00a0Brown and Mekies held a private meeting ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix race day.<\/p>\n Red Bull boss praises \u2018very good group\u2019 of Formula 1 teams<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n After the sudden axing of Christian Horner \u2013 the Red Bull Racing boss of 20-plus years \u2013 following the British Grand Prix, Mekies was named as his replacement.<\/p>\n It had been a challenging 18 months for Horner, who was twice cleared by Red Bull following allegations of inappropriate behaviour from a fellow employee. He also oversaw the waning of Red Bull\u2019s performances, and key figures such as Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Rob Marshall depart the team.<\/p>\n One of Horner\u2019s harshest critics was Zak Brown, who told the Telegraph<\/a> he believes Formula 1 will be \u201chealthier\u201d without Horner, while suggesting that lines were crossed politically by the former Red Bull Racing chief.<\/p>\n Red Bull\u2019s minor breach of the 2021 cost cap attracted plenty of attention from Brown. Meanwhile, as McLaren usurped Red Bull as the leading F1 force, allegations of flexi-wings and tyre water came McLaren\u2019s way.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some political aspects to the sport, but I think it is going to be healthier with Laurent,\u201d said Brown. \u201cI\u2019m a fan of Laurent. I have known him for a long time, and it\u2019ll be good to go racing against him.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be politicking in F1 \u2013 let\u2019s try and shut down their flexi-wings and that stuff, but when you start getting into frivolous allegations, that\u2019s just going too far.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I look up and down the pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed, and that line got crossed before.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that we\u2019ll see a little bit of a change for the better. There\u2019s a higher level of trust that now, if we sit down and have a conversation on a topic where we think there could be some confidentiality, and it\u2019s just not an automatic \u2018I\u2019m going to use that as a political weapon\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be in a better place, a little bit more unified, and a little bit more trusting that while we\u2019re fighting on track, we can have a conversation about what\u2019s good for the sport off it. And that won\u2019t get manipulated for political reasons and taken out of context.\u201d<\/p>\n Mekies echoes Brown\u2019s thoughts on a \u201cunified\u201d Formula 1, and said \u201cthe truth is\u201d that Red Bull and McLaren relations are in a good place.<\/p>\n More on F1 team bosses from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 F1 team principals: How long has each team boss been in charge?<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Critical F1 2026 governance agreement update as minor hurdles remain<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, Mekies said: \u201cYou know, competition on track is one thing. Having discussions together to define the positions on the future of the sport, on key strategic decisions that we need to make as a sport for the future, is something that is normal to do between competitors.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd as much as we will disagree there and there, or we will simply defend our short-term or mid-term interest, the truth is, we have a very good relationship with Zak, with Andrea.<\/p>\n \u201cBut also with Toto [Wolff], and also with Fred [Vasseur] and Mattia [Binotto] and all the other guys.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, you know, it\u2019s a very good group. And I think we have done enough, F1 Commission all together, to be conscious that if we want to truly contribute to the sport \u2013 and I think the sport at the level where it is right now \u2013 deserves that a group tries to tune down their short-term and mid-term interest to discuss with the FIA and with F1 on how to drive it forward.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we try to do. We don\u2019t hide our bias, but we try to be constructive about how to go about it.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren has built a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the F1 standings<\/a>. Oscar Piastri leads the Drivers\u2019 Championship by nine points from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with the highest non-McLaren driver \u2013 Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen \u2013 97 points off top spot.<\/p>\n In the Constructors\u2019 Championship, McLaren are 299 points ahead of nearest challenger Ferrari.<\/p>\n