Laurent Mekies: 'There will be a great battle for the podium'

Published on 18 July 2026 by Johan Peeters

Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, reflects after Saturday’s qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix: “Max and Isack have been on the pace from the moment they went out on track yesterday and that allowed us to progress well throughout the weekend. Not everything is perfect with our package, but we are now talking about the final few tenths to ultimate pace, and the discussion is no longer about a bigger gap. That is a credit to everyone back at the factory and we will focus on reducing the gap even further."

“We knew coming here that we would have a penalty with Isack and that he would be starting from the back of the grid, so, from early in the weekend, the plan was to make the most out of this situation and to get Isack to also help Max throughout Qualifying with slip stream. He and the Team executed this to perfection and that has certainly helped getting Max on the front row. We have been a long way off the straight-line performance Mercedes has shown this weekend and the tow certainly helped reducing that gap." 

“Looking ahead to the race, Kimi looks untouchable but there is going to be a great battle behind him for the podium, and we will fight to be in that mix. As for Isack, his performance has been extremely strong all weekend again. It’s frustrating to have him starting from the back but we know he has the pace and the race craft to fight his way back through the field.”