Mekies confirms issue rear wing: 'We apologize to Max'

Published on 05 July 2026 by Niels Hendrix

For the second week in a row, Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing apologized to Max Verstappen: “We had an issue with the rear wing of Max’ car, so that’s on us. We apologize to Max. It is not the first time that we have had an issue like that, that took him off track. That’s never pleasant. What’s most important is that he is okay.”

Mekies continued: “The pace was certainly better than what we had shown so far this weekend. We made some progress there. We were a bit weak on the hard tyres in the middle part of the race, but Max was very strong during both stints on mediums at the beginning and at the end of the race. It could have been a podium. Good enough to take both McLarens and a Mercedes, but we wasted it today. It’s on us to progress.”

Looking forward to the next race, at Spa-Francorchamps, Mekies concludes: “For us it is only the second race with this new package. We certainly have run into a lot more difficulties this weekend, to get the car in the right place. The race gave us good indications that there is some positive in terms of pace there. But first and foremost, we need to sort out the reliability and make sure we get our drivers at the finish and able to push without issues.”