‘We Are Getting Used to P21 to P2’: Laurent Mekies Hails Max Verstappen’s Interlagos Fightback

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has heaped praise on Max Verstappen, who delivered yet another memorable performance in the wet at Interlagos. A remarkable recovery drive saw the Dutch driver go from P21 to P2, with the first five laps seeing him climb fourteen places. Verstappen’s performance once again underlined his ability to turn a difficult starting position into a podium finish, which has almost become a habit for him.

Speaking after the race, Mekies was particularly impressed by Verstappen’s latest fightback, highlighting how such extraordinary recoveries are becoming increasingly familiar. “We are getting used to P21 to P2, but that’s effectively what he has done again here: P21 to P2,” Mekies remarked. He also praised the team’s overall execution, describing it as a “very, very strong race” and celebrating the double podium.

Despite starting deep in the field, Verstappen made steady progress through the order, with the backmarkers being hardly any problem for him. Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari had a sudden loss of grip on the rear tires by the time Verstappen approached him, making it easy for the four-time champion to make the pass on his former title rival.

From there on, it was business as usual for Verstappen, who made one pass after another. Meanwhile, Mekies was also candid about the areas where Red Bull still needs to improve, acknowledging that McLaren’s Lando Norris appeared to have a slight advantage on race pace.

Max Verstappen Did It All in a Not-So-Ideal Car

The post-race radio messages painted an ugly but highly impressive picture for Verstappen and Red Bull, with the 29-year-old slating the handling of his car. While P2 was certainly a “nice” finish for him, Verstappen still complained that he did “85 percent of the race with a f****d car.”

He continued that he was sorry for the colorful language, but the car was “a disaster to drive. Unbelievable.” In the eyes of Verstappen, he had never experienced something this bad, neither in the wet nor in the dry.

Mekies came in on the radio to sympathize with the Dutchman, stating that he understood Verstappen’s criticism while also revealing, “We saw you fighting with the car all the way through.” The Red Bull team principal gave a pat on the back to his Dutch driver for achieving P2 as he promised to get to the bottom of the issue.

Verstappen then proceeded to congratulate his team on a job well done, with teammate Isack Hadjar securing P3 to deliver Red Bull a double podium finish in São Paulo.

Max Verstappen Details His Issues With the RB22 in Brazil

Verstappen might have sliced through the field in Brazil with relative ease in the eyes of most, but from the cockpit, the scene was as tough as it could get. He was up to sixth by Lap 8, but the post-race comments from the Dutchman shone a light on “extreme amounts of oversteer” when the slick tires were on.

While the early laps in the wet were a fun affair for him, the mood turned in Verstappen’s cockpit once the softs came. Therefore, the No. 3 driver now hopes to understand what failed or went missing on the car. He feels that there is more to it than meets the eye, but as things stand, the car did not work well for most of the race.

Even when the team switched back to the inters for the end of the race, the balance was completely the opposite of what they started with, and “that is normally not possible.” Thus, Verstappen continued his assertion that the issue was not a result of degradation and was rather down to a part falling off or breaking.

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