Mekies surprised by early F1 convergence under 2026 rules

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told media, including RacingNews365, that Formula 1’s leading teams had converged sooner than he expected under the 2026 regulations. He wondered whether the pace of that convergence could be a sign of a restrictive rulebook, but said the four-team fight is good for the sport.

F1’s 2026 overhaul introduced new chassis and power-unit rules, which were expected to produce significant performance differences as teams pursued their own solutions. The wider field has spread out, but Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull remain closely grouped at the front, and each has won multiple Grands Prix in the first year of the rules. Mekies noted that the cars still have visibly different concepts.

In the second half of 2026, Mekies said, it had become difficult to predict which of the four teams would win at a race weekend. He put the top five in qualifying within two tenths, and said a victory takes a strong development push as well as near-perfect execution.