Mekies after qualifying in Mexico: 'Max lost the chance to fight for pole'

Published on 01 November 2026 by Niels Hendrix

Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said after qualifying in Mexico: “After a bumpy start to the weekend, that was a good turnaround again in qualifying, so well done to everyone in the team for coming together and making a strong improvement compared to where we were with the car on Friday. We had the pace to fight for the top positions in qualifying, even if the final lap in Q3 did not go to plan.”

Mekies explained: “On Max’s last attempt, he was the fastest on track up until the point where he got traffic from Lando in the last sector and lost the chance to fight for pole, so that’s a shame. Isack showed strong pace as well and kept building throughout qualifying. There was certainly the potential for more.”

“For the race, even if we start quite far back, we will try to put some pressure on our competitors and be ready to take any opportunities from what happens ahead of us. It is going to be a long race, extremely demanding on the chassis and PUs, and of course in terms of tyre management, so we look forward to the battles on track.”