Mekies after Max's P3 in Interlagos: 'Unbelievable performance'

Published on 09 November 2025 by Yvonne Huijs

Laurent Mekies, CEO and team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, says after the race in Brazil: “It was an unbelievable performance from Max today, we all know he did it last year from P17 to win in the wet and it was one of the most extraordinary races one could watch. But this year he almost did it again - from the pitlane, in the dry and, having to make an extra stop with a slow puncture on the first set of tyres. Hats off to him and the Team, they executed a very sharp strategy to get through the field." 

Mekies emphasizes: "More importantly, the car was alive again and at the right level of performance. This is not a win but a very positive day for us, everyone has done an amazing job. We took risks, we made mistakes and explored things across the weekend but it is part of the learning process that we feel we need to go racing at the level we want to compete at. The car probably had the pace to fight for the win today, which is exactly what we were looking for when we decided to make the changes overnight."

For teammate Yuki Tsunoda, the race proved more challenging: "With Yuki, he lost a lot of time today with his ten second penalty and then we made a mistake on our side and incurred another. So, it is a shame that it doesn’t seem to be going our way with Yuki. His last stint was strong and if you removed those two penalties, he would have ended up fighting for points. We will be wishing to have a slightly quieter weekend in Vegas but with everyone's support again at track and back home on Campus, we will be ready to fight no matter the circumstances."  

Max’s special Brazilian helmet is now available as a scale model (1:2 and 1:4). In addition, a Brazilian cap, sport shirt, and zip hoodie have been launched! Check it out: https://www.verstappen.com/collections/brazil-collection