Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies hopes that Formula 1 will soon return to ‘full-throttle qualifying’. Under the new regulations, drivers can no longer set a fast qualifying lap on the edge, thanks to energy management. According to Mekies, an adjustment of the regulations in the area of qualifying will ultimately also lead to better racing, although it will take a while: ‘Must solve it for the 2027 season’.
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The new Formula 1 regulations have already come under fire regularly this year. For example, Max Verstappen previously called the 2026 challengers ‘unworthy of Formula 1’, while Lando Norris labeled the new racing as ‘yo-yoing’. Qualifying under the new rules is no fun for many drivers because – thanks to the new energy management – they can no longer drive a fast lap at full throttle. Drivers have to lift off the throttle in corners to recharge the battery.
“There is one thing I think we all agree on – all teams and the sport as a whole: the FIA, F1, and the drivers – and that is that we would all like to see qualifying become a full-speed qualifying, or as close to it as possible,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies also advocates for change. “That is the first thing we are trying to focus on as a sport.”
Effect on the races
According to the Frenchman, a better qualifying session will then automatically translate into less ‘artificial’ racing. “What happens then is that as soon as you improve your performance, or as soon as you reach a level where you qualify at full throttle, you automatically get a race with potentially slightly less tactical play,” Mekies explains. “The degree of tactical play in the race can probably be addressed, and opinions in the pit lane vary widely on that, but I think the most important thing is that we get closer to a full-speed qualifying. That is what we are trying to achieve as a sport at the moment.”
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2027
Although many fans would rather see regulatory changes for qualifying implemented today than tomorrow, Mekies thinks it is more important to also look at the bigger picture. “Personally, I think the focus should be on how we can solve this properly for 2027, because we still have enough time to do something about it if we want to address it and go full throttle in qualifying in 2027,” he adds. “Then there are surely a number of things we can do in 2027.”
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