Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has said that he and the Formula 1 team “have a very good relationship” with McLaren, despite a previous fraught rivalry.
The Milton Keynes squad was part of an often contentious competition with McLaren in recent times, as the two teams have battled for F1 supremacy.
Much of the antagonistic side was provided by McLaren’s return to the top of the tree, amid theories that it was deploying underhanded trickery.
Before being exonerated after scrutineering, McLaren had been the centre of rumour it was cooling its tyres through water injections, something Red Bull investigated.
This, and other instances over this year and the last, led to some public needle between former Team Principal Christian Horner and McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown.
The American intimated last week that the relationship would now be “healthier” with Mekies in charge, after periods of what he called “frivolous accusations”.
Mekies has appeared to corroborate these sentiments, saying that he can separate the difference between battling on and off the track.
“You know, competition on track is one thing,” the Frenchman told media including Motorsport Week.
“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.
“And 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 [Stella].”
Red Bull on good terms with ‘all the other guys’ on the F1 grid
Mekies continued that his cordial acquaintanceship stretches beyond into other teams, saying he also is on good terms “with Toto [Wolff], and also with Fred [Vasseur] and Mattia [Binotto] and all the other guys.”
“So, you know, it’s a very good group,” he added.
“And I think we have done enough, F1 Commission all together, to be conscious that if we want to truly contribute to the sport – and I think the sport at the level where it is right now – 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.
“And that’s what we try to do. We don’t hide our bias, but we try to be constructive about how to go about it.”
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