Verstappen says Mekies’ engineering touch key to Red Bull revival

Max Verstappen hailed Red Bull’s new team principal Laurent Mekies, praising his engineering acumen for helping steer the team back to winning ways after his crushing Italian Grand Prix victory.

The Dutchman crossed the line nearly 19 seconds clear of Lando Norris, securing his third win of the season and sending a clear message that Red Bull’s mid-season slump may be behind them.

Red Bull has struggled for much of the past year with an inconsistent and often unresponsive RB21. But in the wake of Mekies taking charge at the Milton Keynes-based outfit following Christian Horner’s exit last July, the team has benefitted from a clearer and more disciplined technical direction.

“Up until now we’ve had a lot of races where we were just shooting left and right a little bit with the set-up of the car. Quite extreme changes, which shows that we were not in control. We were not fully understanding what to do,” Verstappen explained after his dominant Monza win.

“With Laurent having an engineering background, he’s asking the right questions to the engineers – common-sense questions – so I think that works really well.

“Plus, you try to understand from the things that you have tried, then at one point something gives you a bit of an idea of a direction, and that’s what we kept on working on.”

Progress felt since Zandvoort

Verstappen pointed to Mekies’ influence as early as his third race in charge at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Red Bull first showed signs of regaining balance.

“I definitely felt that in Zandvoort already we took a step that seemed to work quite well, and then here another step which felt again a little bit better,” he said.

The reigning world champion added that the RB21 finally felt under his command at Monza after months of unpredictable handling.

“Before, it felt like you were a passenger in the car,” he admitted. “We had some races where it was just not balanced. Now, finally, there was more balance in the car and then the tyres also behaved a little bit more normally.”

Marko: “Communication has improved significantly”

Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko echoed Verstappen’s praise, highlighting Mekies’ structured approach to practice and his technical communication.

"It’s mainly a different approach to practice. We’re trying things out and already pushing closer to the limit during practice," Marko told Sky Germany.

"That allows us to find the car’s maximum earlier and ensures we’re not as far off in set-up direction compared to the past.

"On a technical level, the communication has improved significantly, and that’s having a positive impact on the whole team.

“You can see it, for example, with Yuki — finishing P10 [in qualifying]. I honestly can’t even remember the last time he reached Q3. You can clearly feel the upward trend."

• Read also: Verstappen chimes in on McLaren swap after 'straightforward' Monza win

With Verstappen back in commanding form and Marko seeing signs of momentum across the garage, Mekies’ arrival already looks like a pivotal move for Red Bull.

For Verstappen, the Italian Grand Prix was not just a victory but proof that the team’s technical puzzle is finally coming together.

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