Mekies praises Verstappen for his performance. He believes an even better result for the Dutchman was a possibility, whilst refraining from tipping the four-time world champion to emerge victorious against McLaren's Lando Norris.

“First [of all], credit to Max for the sensational drive,” says Mekies. “He won last year here from P16 (P17,ed.) in the wet. And I think we will probably agree that it was as sensational as last year to bring it to P3 from the pit lane on a dry, relatively uneventful race.”

Mekies admits that his F1 team took a risk after the sprint race by making sweeping changes to the car. “Then, you know, the simple truth is that we were not happy with where the car was in terms of... car balance and drivers feeling after the sprint race,” he explains.

He continues: “We felt the optimum window was not where we were. We tried our only car at that moment to change it before the main qualifying. We obviously got it wrong, but it's the way we go racing.

Red Bull then decided to tweak the setup again and install a new engine. That proved to be the right move. “The car was alive today, that's the most important thing,” says Mekies. “The car was probably good enough to fight for the win today and that's what we're after after the relatively average result of the sprint.”

On 15 January in Detroit, U.S., Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls will launch their 2026 F1 cars at technical partner Ford's factory.

In a move that is set to defy the F1 conventions once more, Red Bull will debut as a manufacturer come next season, fitting Red Bull Ford Powertrains power units at the back of their cars. The decision to have both of the teams' cars unveiled on Ford grounds, stands as an homage to the closely-kintted collaboration between both brands.

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