Mekies after qualifying in Baku: 'We had high expectations'

Published on 25 September 2026 by Yvonne Huijs

Laurent Mekies, CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said after qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: "Difficult not to be very disappointed today. Max’s pace has been very strong all weekend and he was getting closer to the top every time he went out on track, so we had high expectations for Qualifying. This was especially encouraging as we came here with our latest upgrade. However, Max’s car developed a power unit issue during Qualifying which got worse as the session went on. Not only did it bring a large straight-line speed deficit, but it also made our life very complicated with energy deployment and tyre preparation. P8 was sort of damage limitation in these conditions. We will change the faulty parts tonight and I know Max will fight very hard with the Team tomorrow to make our way back to the podium."

Mekies continues: "On the positive, Isack’s return to the car after missing three races was exactly as we had all hoped. First, the most important thing is that he is fully recovered and does not have pain while driving. He has built up his rhythm very cleverly throughout the weekend and secured a solid P4 today. We will have two cars fighting for podium positions tomorrow and it does not look like it’s going to be a boring race."