(Motorsport-Total.com) – After Max Verstappen’s third place at the Belgian Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is extremely confident: “We know that the car can reach the podium at every race weekend,” he said after the race on Sky Sport F1.
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The 300th podium in the history of the racing team could have even been a bit better. After all, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc benefited from a virtual safety car and thereby passed, among others, the four-time world champion.
However, a race win was not considered possible, according to the team from Milton Keynes. “Kimi was in a league of his own today,” Mekies emphasizes. “He was always a bit faster.”
Verstappen himself is also satisfied after the race and confirms that the result on race day was actually better than originally expected. “I gave everything in the race,” he said.
“The first stint was not bad. The second stint was a bit more difficult, and I think Kimi and I just had bad luck with the VSC. Therefore, I believe that a podium for us today is a really good result. I gave everything and think P3 is really good.”
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In the second stint, Verstappen struggled not only with the virtual safety car but also with his RB22. “The balance was not where I wanted it to be during [the second stint],” explains the four-time world champion.
After the first stint on the mediums, the Red Bull driver chose the hard tires for the second stint. “In the first half [of the stint], I therefore lost too much time.”
Team principal Mekies also praises Isack Hadjar’s pace on the Sky microphone: “That was his strongest race so far,” emphasizes the 49-year-old. “From the very back to P6! His pace was great!”
Furthermore, Mekies sees his protégé’s comeback on the Ardennes rollercoaster as further confirmation of the Red Bulls’ upward trend.
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