Mekies lauds key Red Bull turnaround after Verstappen’s pole masterclass

The 48-year-old, who spoke to ViaPlay after the high-octane qualifying session, praised the team’s performance, including the overnight turnaround achieved by the Red Bull staff.

“Look, it's huge, well done to Max, to Yuki [Tsunoda], and to the team. There was serious speed out there. We were not looking that fast yesterday, and everybody has done a mega job overnight, both at the factory and here, to manage to invent a new, better window for the car, and it worked,” Mekies said.

“Mega speed, both cars in Q3. Max doing the pole twice, effectively. Yuki helping as well with a nice tow on his first run in Q3. So, mega teamwork and a great result,” he added.

Pressed further on whether he was surprised by the gap Verstappen had over the McLaren team, the French motorsports chief continued:

“Certainly, compared to yesterday, we were generally three, four-tenths behind them on the short runs. It was not looking very bright. Again, the guys have been working all night long here and at the factory to try to find solutions,” he said.

“We did some tests in FP3. It's tricky to do tests in FP3 here because of the temperature difference, but they have really nailed it. Well done to everyone, and to Max for two absolutely magic laps,” Mekies concluded.

Verstappen ended qualifying in Abu Dhabi with a staggering pole lap, over two-tenths ahead of both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who followed in second and third, respectively.

The pole position also marked his eighth of the campaign, the most of any driver in the 2025 season.

Earlier, Verstappen praised the Red Bull Racing outfit following his pole position in Abu Dhabi. The four-time world champion highlighted the team’s perfect judgement of track requirements and tyre temperatures as pivotal to his stunning lap.

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