Mekies responds to Verstappen's 'not agreed' claim with clear verdict

Verstappen finished third in Austin, around 17 seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli, after Red Bull put him on a soft-soft-medium strategy. The Italian won the race on a one-stop strategy.

Speaking to Viaplay after the race, Verstappen was asked whether he had agreed to running softs in the second stint. "No, it wasn't agreed upon. That's why I don't get it. Then everyone would know we're doing a two-stop," the Dutchman said.

Mekies was asked about Verstappen's verdict after the race. "I'm not sure what he was referring to because I didn't hear what he said. But I think one thing that may have surprised him is the fact that we elected to put him on the soft for the second stint, which was certainly not the baseline option for us".

He added: "Unfortunately, as you may have seen in that second stint, we suffered fairly high degradation. It is probably one of the things we will review together."

Mekies insisted the strategy did not decide the race against Antonelli. "I think Kimi had more pace than us today; I don't think we can use any excuse of tyres or of strategy. I think Kimi was faster than us today, fair play and well done to him."

He also acknowledged that Red Bull normally has an edge on the softer compounds and had 'struggled to use that advantage' in Texas, with high degradation on both of Verstappen's soft sets.

The race was for second place, and that fight was lost. Verstappen took mediums for his final stint at his Lap-32 stop, while Charles Leclerc stopped on Lap 40 and fitted hards. The eight-lap tyre offset let the Ferrari driver pass him for P2.

Asked whether hard tyres in the final stint could have kept Verstappen second, Mekies conceded that they could have. "So it may have been the case, you know, if you finish a few tenths or a couple of seconds behind Charles, you're always going to think that a more resilient tyres could have could have helped you. We will never know."

Antonelli is two points away from claiming his first-ever Formula 1 title, while only nine points separate four drivers - George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc - in the battle for second place in the championship. This week, the season continues with the Mexico City Grand Prix.