Ferrari chief balks that Verstappen benefits greatly from top speed Red Bull

Laurent Mekies has left the United States with mixed feelings. The sporting director balks at Carlos Sainz's early exit, but Charles Leclerc 's podium finish does make for happy faces on the Italian pit wall once again. Mekies cannot help but conclude that Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are simply too fast.

“It was very, very mixed feelings. It was a bit of a shock losing Carlos like that after 300 metres, it’s quite rare to see these sorts of things happening nowadays," Mekies is quoted by Formula One's official website. "It’s part of the game but certainly it’s a shame. It was a great opportunity and I think from where Red Bull were, it would have been great to be in the fight with Carlos."

Due to an engine change, Charles Leclerc was moved back 10 spots on the grid. The Monegasque had to come from P12 and was even briefly second at one point, behind Lewis Hamilton. "Very well done to Charles for that and to the team. I think at some stage he had a good fight with Max, he tried very hard. I think he still lacked a little bit compared to Max in these kind of race conditions but he still gave it a good go."

Red Bull very fast on straights

Ferrari reportedly has the most powerful engine in the field, but the RB18 is the fastest car on the straights thanks to its aerodynamic efficiency. It made it difficult for Leclerc to keep Verstappen behind him. Mekies knows it is a point of improvement for his team heading into the 2023 season.

"It’s not the first race they are racing with an advantage on the straight compared to all the other competitors. They managed to deal with that and certainly when there are some fights such as today, it gives them an advantage; it’s something we always need to balance between lap time and speed and I think they had a bit of a pace advantage... as they have had at most of the Sundays this year," concluded the 45-year-old Frenchman.