Following a disastrous qualifying for the São Paulo GP in which both Red Bull drivers were eliminated in Q1, Laurent Mekies explained the team’s thought process that influenced the result.
While Yuki Tsunoda has struggled with his qualifying pace throughout the season, Max Verstappen’s Q1 elimination was a huge shock. The Dutch driver has only had seven Q1 eliminations in his Formula 1 career.
Steps backwards after the sprint
Although he was not fighting for the win in the sprint race, Verstappen was somewhat competitive. He crossed the finish line in P4, though he was vocal about his issues with the car. On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Tsunoda struggled more. He started the race from the pitlane in an attempt to experiment with a better setup.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Mekies shared the unidentifiable issues that the team have had with the car throughout the weekend.
“Obviously, nobody expected something like that. We have been unhappy with the car since pretty much when we got here, and you heard our struggles through the practice session and sprint but nonetheless, we were at the point where we could not fight for the win but we could fight with the group just after.”
As Red Bull have struggled to identify their issues, Mekies explained that the team took a risky setup direction for qualifying at the São Paulo GP that did not pay off. Choosing a good setup direction is particularly crucial during sprint weekends, in which the time for experimentation is limited to one practice session.
“It’s fair to say that we took some more risk before qualifying to try to see if we could put the car in a better place and it obviously went the opposite direction. So, that’s where we are now. It’s sometimes the price you pay when you take a risk, you cannot always go your way. It’s painful but it’s something we can learn from and improve.”
Bold decisions part of the team’s DNA
Mekies went on to explain that a bold setup choice was necessary if they wanted to be competitive. He also emphasised that the team was keen to improve upon the struggles of earlier sessions in the weekend.
“That’s the way we go racing, and sometimes it hurts… We did take some risks, we did change significantly the car because again that’s the sort of risk you need to take if you want to give yourself a chance to put the car back in a window where it could fight for something bigger than where we were this morning.”
Despite being disappointed with the team’s qualifying result, Mekies did not seem worried about this result being the start of a negative trend.
“As we said it went the opposite direction so now we are where we are but no I would not say it was frightening, it’s bold changes, we have been bold in our approach for a long time, that’s the way we go racing and sometimes it hurts.”
