Mekies after qualifying in Spa: 'Nowhere near perfect'

Published on 26 July 2025 by Yvonne Huijs

After an eventful Saturday in Spa, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal and CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing, shares his thoughts on the day. “It was a very positive start to the day with a win in the sprint. This was down to the enormous effort from everyone in the factory to deliver key upgrades, and from there it was an incredible job from Max. He had only one shot to make the move on Oscar and he nailed it, after that it was a masterclass of defence and tyre management, well supported by the team."

About qualifying, Mekies says: “It was a smooth session but nowhere near perfect and it was certainly a little bit more difficult to extract everything from the car for Max. This is something for us as a team to look at. The gap to McLaren is probably fair, it is reflecting the reality and it is still a bit frustrating to miss out. For Yuki it was a really positive step forward this weekend and it is good to see him in Q3. He progressed very well, and his best qualifying result for the Team should give him a good boost of confidence. We upgraded his car just before qualifying, giving him the same updated floor as Max, although not the same front wing. A big thank you for the huge effort from the crew to get that car ready on time.”

Max will start from P4 tomorrow, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda will line up in P7. Mekies: “Everything is to play for. We will see what the weather is like, we are not desperate for rain but we have made choices on the car to prepare for variable weather. The rain is probably the best chance to mix up the cards and to get closer to McLaren but if it’s a drier day we will still take the fight and it will be down to how we play the game and tyre management.”

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