Red Bull turns nightmare weekend into impressive Mexico showing
Max Verstappen salvaged a strong finish in Mexico despite struggling with his car all weekend, according to Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies.
“The race was tense; the guys were very strong and good with the strategy, which helped us a lot,” said Mekies.
The team boss admitted they couldn’t give Verstappen a car he could push to his usual limits.
“We were not in the same strong positions here as we have been in the last few races,” Mekies explained. “There is no obvious reason why. I think the most obvious aspect is that we couldn’t give Max a car he could push as much as he normally does.”
This limitation slowed them down considerably throughout the weekend.
But the real story was McLaren’s dominance in Mexico City.
“Will that be enough to match Lando [Norris] here this weekend? Not true, honestly, credit to them. They have been very, very fast. He was untouchable this weekend,” Mekies admitted.
Starting from P5 could have spelled disaster for Verstappen’s race. Instead, the team’s strategy combined with the Dutchman’s remarkable second stint helped salvage what could have been a much worse situation.
“The second stint from Max was unbelievable,” said Mekies. “So, altogether, it put us back in contention, save for the VSC; it was probably the best result we could have had.”
## Championship not the focus
Despite Verstappen closing the gap to new championship leader Norris, Mekies insists the team isn’t fixated on the title race.
“We are not going to change our approach. We were not looking at the championship five races ago, we were not looking at the championship before Austin, and we are not going to after Austin,” he explained.
Instead, Red Bull is focused on improving their performance.
“What we look at is that we don’t feel 100% good about this weekend in terms of car performance.”
The team’s attention has already shifted to the next challenge in Brazil.
“Already, as we speak, back in Milton Keynes, the focus will be on what we could do if we come back here – what we can learn for Brazil,” said Mekies.
He emphasized that championship standings are simply a consequence of their work, not the focus.
“It doesn’t change anything for us whether we are close or far. We still want, as a team, to come to the racetrack and leave knowing we have extracted absolutely everything and that everything is good enough to fight for the win.”
Verstappen now sits third in the drivers’ standings, 36 points behind Norris with four races and two sprints remaining in the 2025 season.
Can the Dutchman mount a late-season comeback? The next few races will tell us everything.
