Red Bull Racing Formula One team principal Laurent Mekies has opened up on how the squad got Max Verstappen back to the top, as witnessed last weekend during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which marked his first victory since the race at Imola in May.
For the first time in F1’s ground effect era, which began in 2022, Verstappen isn’t leading the Drivers’ Standings, courtesy of problems on the RB21 F1 car that the team reportedly failed to address in a short span of time.
That, combined with McLaren’s dominance, led the four-time world champion to fight a lonely battle in third place in the championship. Verstappen has been patient with Red Bull thus far, despite a reported strong interest from Mercedes before the summer break.
Mekies, who took over the role of CEO and team principal after the British Grand Prix, revealed the lengths Red Bull went to iron out problems on the RB21, the result of which was visible at Monza, where the Dutchman crossed the finish line nearly 20 seconds ahead of Lando Norris with a new floor on his car. The Red Bull chief said after Verstappen’s recent win:
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing talk in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at…
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing talk in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 25, 2025 in Spa, Belgium.
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“In this sort of moment, you think of the team back in Milton Keynes and it’s tough start to the season.
“When things are not working the way you would like them to work, when you are missing that ultimate pace, you question everything. That’s the way we are, the way the competition is.
“What is great is that the team kept an open mind. They did question everything in a very constructive way, and it was a lot of hard work.
“You don’t always get the positive feedback from the track as we got [at Monza]. But they’ve been pushing hard, not giving up, and whilst Monza is a specific layout, blah, blah, blah, it very much gave them back the credit of many weeks, many months of hard work.”
Verstappen addressed the improvement on his RB21, revealing that he enjoyed racing in it, and went on to praise his team. He said:
“It was a great day for us. Lap 1 was a bit unlucky but after that we were flying. The car was really enjoyable. I could manage the pace quite well throughout that first stint and we pitted at the right time.
“With the hard tyres at the end, you can push a bit more, it’s more resilient. Fantastic execution by everyone by the whole team. The whole weekend, we were on it. It’s super enjoyable to win here.”
Highlighting the impressive pace of his car, Verstappen said:
“I could see the pace was good, I just needed to settle in. I could see the pace was there and quite quickly we were back in the lead. This was an unbelievable weekend.”