Mekies about race at Spa: 'Little wet running today didn't help us'

Published on 27 July 2025 by Julien Lemmen

After Max Verstappen's victory in Saturday's sprint race, there was't any reason the cheer for the Oracle Red Bull Racing team on Sunday. Max Verstappen finished fourth, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished outside the points.

Team principal Laurent Mekies reflects after the race: "The fact that we got so little wet running today did not help us as a team. We added more downforce prior to Qualifying, in the expectation of a wet race but we didn’t get much racing in it and for sure, that influenced our race. It is part of the game. In the dry there it was always going to be very difficult for Max to overtake and he spent every single lap in Charles’ gearbox but ultimately became unlikely we would pass the Ferrari in these conditions."

Mekies continues: "A positive is that the Team is happy with the upgrade package, there is no question as to whether we brought performance to the car, we absolutely feel we did. Does it fix all the limitations in the car? No but it is a step forwards. After two weeks at the factory, trying to meet as many people as possible it was nice to be with, and be integrated into the Race Team and enter the race dynamic. It was great to see the flow and processes trackside, as you would imagine it is a Team where everything is done at the highest level and I have met a very tight, strong group.  Now, we look forward to seeing what we can deliver in a few days’ time in Budapest, at a track with very different characteristics to this one."