Red Bull boss, Laurent Mekies has dismissed George Russell's clam that the Austrian outfit is now the team to beat.

"The main thing for us as a team is to try and understand how we're going to find more performance," said Russell following Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull's second successive victory of the season, "because the performance of Red Bull has been very impressive the last three weeks on three very different circuits and you know right now they are the team to beat."

The Mercedes driver isn't alone in his thinking, with team boss Toto Wollf, sharing his opinion, along with members of the Ferrari and McLaren squads.

"I think what is a fact is that in these last three races, we had the pace to win, and actually we won two out of the three," said Mekies. "So, for the first time this season, in these three races, we had the ultimate pace.

"It's fair to say that the three tracks are different enough for one to think that moving to other types of tracks, the car should be competitive," he added. "That's also what we think, that the car should be competitive, having shown what it has shown in the last three races.

"But it's never a given," he insisted, "and you have seen this with many, many examples this year. "You had the back-to-back wins from the McLaren, and then they suffered a bit more after. You had some very dominant periods from Mercedes, and after that have been suffering. It's a fight every race weekend to extract everything. If you do so, we think we can fight for the win."

However, the Frenchman was also keen to make clear that the recent successes are not solely down to the car.

"His input is massive," he said of Max Verstappen. "His technical sensitivity is outstanding, probably without any equivalent and therefore yes, he has that capability to pinpoint what is limiting performance.

"Unfortunately for us it doesn't mean that we have a fix for it when he tells us what the problem is, but at least he tells us what the problem is. It's a massive help for the team.

"We do it in a way where we are always very direct and transparent with each other, and constructive even if it comes with emotion sometimes. It's a massive boost for the chassis development and a massive boost to the PU development.

"Again, we wish we could provide solutions faster sometimes, but it's part of the game. Even on a weekend where you take two poles and two wins like this weekend, we are still very honest with each other about the fact that there were still a number of things we would like to see done better, and that's the spirit of this team. With that spirit, we will go on and reset and tackle the next races."

In a final twist, the Frenchman offered Mercedes and Red Bull's other rivals a possible crumb of comfort.

"There is another element," he said, "which is that, as is well documented, we have completed our update programme for this year. So this pecking order could very rapidly change if some or many of our competitors bring upgrades."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ffracer, 16/10/2026 3:07

"@Spindoctor - better to stay humble and kind so I agree with Mekies stance, Not yawn worthy for me, it's appreciated."

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2. Posted by ffracer, 16/10/2026 3:04

"@Kenji and @Spindoctor- valid points made by you both, cynicism and concern for less equal AMG customer powerplants agreed lolol.

I'm sure Andrea Stella is verifying dyno sheets and dyno specs/ hybrid specs and full AMG hardware/software for any extra settings lol, as we speak"

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 15/10/2026 12:12

"My cynicism at the "we're not really the team to beat" yawn-inducing nonsense aside, I am full of admiration for RBR's resilience & technical skills.
At present it seems the chassis suits both of its drivers, is really fast & the PU is excellent. Well done."

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4. Posted by kenji, 15/10/2026 4:21

"@ffracer On the basis of the success RBPT have had in YTD results it now places the RB teams in an enviable situation vis a vis the competition. Mercedes were the creme de la creme, and possibly still are over a lengthier duration but for that reputation there is limited control by customers and it shows. McLaren are a perfect example. It appears that they don't believe that Mercedes are being 100% open about the performance ranges that can be extracted ,but McLaren can only fire off veiled hints! RB have the luxury now, should their performances grow even further of being a supplier as well. I salute their endeavours. Very well done."

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5. Posted by ffracer, 15/10/2026 1:55

"Got to give credit to Red Bull Racing (and Racing Bulls VCARP) for continuing to producing great racecars but ALWAYS managing to bounce back faster than most when they don't and understand the data to return so strongly AND all this despite losing great/legendary senior team personnel and changing so many engine manufacturers. Absolutely incredible.

The Ford collaboration with RB has been amazing but I can't stop wondering what the Laurent Mekies led team could have done with an AMG Mercedes powertrain contract... as the the pitlane breathes a collective sigh of relief."

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6. Posted by Spindoctor, 14/10/2026 12:06

"Yawn......"

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Mekies down plays "team to beat" claim

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