Red Bull's chief has stated that Max Verstappen will not influence the driver lineup for the 2027 Racing Bulls.

Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing, has stated that Racing Bulls will solely determine its Formula 1 driver roster for 2027, and that Max Verstappen will not have any influence, even after his incident with Liam Lawson in Mexico.

Both Verstappen and Lawson received a one-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix following their collision during the second practice session on Friday. 

The four-time champion remarked that Lawson's actions reflected "not very smart behaviour" during a media interview after the session.

"Well, I don't think it's just bad luck. Perhaps it was not very intelligent behaviour on his part," the Dutch driver clarified. "In the end, it won’t alter my weekend, but if I were in his position, I would approach things a bit more wisely. Especially when you're contesting for your seat, acting that way isn't very clever."

Lawson’s contract with the Red Bull sister team concludes at the end of 2026, yet Mekies affirmed that Verstappen and Red Bull would have no influence over the Racing Bulls driver choices.

"No, I believe it’s important to differentiate both aspects. There are certain actions on the track that are completely unnecessary and thus frustrating for the drivers and the teams involved, which is likely what you heard in Max's response, alongside the driver decisions," Mekies told Sky Sports F1.

"The Racing Bulls [driver lineup] is entirely their decision, and only theirs."

When asked if Verstappen could sway Racing Bulls' driver decisions, Mekies responded: "Max understands motorsport too well to be influenced by a single incident. So far, we’ve been a bit behind."

"The other three top teams have been able to extract a bit more performance than we have, but the weekend is still ongoing. The team is putting in their utmost effort with the latest adjustments we can make to the car.

"Let’s see if we can narrow that gap to the leaders. Earlier, when things looked dire, we were approximately three and a half tenths adrift. If we can reduce that margin, it should bring us back into contention."

Photos from Mexican GP - Saturday

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