Mekies after Max's second place in Austria: 'Strongest race so far'

Published on 28 June 2026 by Coen Versteeg

Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, told after the Austrian Grand Prix: “Our best result of the year. We produced a very strong performance this afternoon, without a doubt our strongest race of the season so far. The most satisfying element is the pace: I think Kimi was quickest today and Max was maybe a little bit quicker than George, but then your grid position also has an impact.”

Mekies continues: “In qualifying, it was clear how much progress we have made, even if the grid positions didn’t reflect that. On what is a very difficult track, made even more demanding by the very hot conditions, we got very close to the sort of pace needed to win. That is a testament to how effective the work carried out back at the factory was. If you look back to the start of the season, we have managed to close the gap to the fastest from one second to around a couple of tenths. The fight is not over yet, with everyone continuing to bring updates and we will need more to come from our side. Max was exceptional today in all phases of the race. We did not win, but we were lacking very little, maybe just hundredths of a second and it was certainly a good fight.”

He ends: “Isack also delivered another solid performance today as he continues to make progress, so overall it’s a step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that all four cars using the Red Bull Ford Powertrains finished in the points today.”