Max Verstappen‘s win gave Laurent Mekies his first taste of victory as a Formula 1 team principal. But you wouldn’t know it from Mekies’ reaction – the Frenchman stayed remarkably humble despite the achievement.
When reporters tried to get headline-worthy quotes from him, Mekies wouldn’t take the bait. Instead, he kept the focus squarely on his team’s efforts.
It’s a telling sign of his character as he settles into the massive challenge of filling Christian Horner’s shoes at the former world champion team.
## Mekies praises Red Bull’s employees
When GPblog asked what this first victory meant to him personally, Mekies immediately redirected attention to the team.
“In this sort of moment, you think about the team back in Milton Keynes, after the tough start to the season, when things aren’t working the way you’d like them to,” he said.
“When you’re missing that ultimate pace, you question everything, that’s just how we are. That’s how competition works.”
What impressed Mekies most was how the team responded to adversity.
“What’s great is that they kept an open mind. They questioned everything in a really constructive way.”
“It’s a lot of hard work. You don’t always get the positive feedback on track like we got today.”
“The thoughts are very much with everyone in Milton Keynes that have been pushing so hard not to give up.”
Verstappen managed to beat both McLaren drivers in Italy, a significant achievement given their recent pace advantage.
In his first few months leading Red Bull Racing, Mekies has made quite an impression. He’s somehow kept everyone pushing in the same direction while creating a positive atmosphere – no small feat during challenging times.
## Mekies does not need credit for Verstappen’s victory
When reporters tried again to get Mekies to take some personal credit, asking if his engineering background helped with setup changes to Verstappen’s car, he was refreshingly direct.
“The level of contribution is zero. I’m not joking either,” the team principal insisted.
“It’s 1,500 people working on making the car faster. These are the contributions of these talents that make the car faster, that make the hundreds and the thousands, make the setup options available, and make the new components available.”
“The short answer is zero,” he concluded.
