After celebrating Max Verstappen’s commanding victory in Sunday’s F1 Italian GP, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was full of praise for the driver and the team.
In his print media session on Sunday, Mekies lauded his Red Bull team for the ‘amazing job’ it had performed in preparation for the Italian GP.
The team had analyzed last year’s Italian GP to come up with targeted solutions to improve the car for this year.
A job done so well that the pace advantage even surprised the team.
Mekies also praised the performance of Red Bull’s star driver and reigning Champion Max Verstappen, who executed a ‘perfect weekend’.
“Last year was a very difficult point, and the guys did an amazing job analysing last year, coming here with very specific solutions, and it seems like they have overshot the target.
“Meaning the car was actually in a much better window compared to the other tracks.
“So, if you add to that, Max [Verstappen] did just a perfect weekend.
“He really did such a strong weekend.
“It put us there.
“We were not anticipating to have a pace advantage in the race, but it turned out to be the case.”
Updates might prove useful for upcoming races
The team from Milton Keynes not only brought a circuit-specific rear wing to the Italian GP but also significant updates to their floor.
While the updates were targeted for the F1 Italian GP, Mekies notes that Red Bull will analyse whether this weekend’s components can help increase performance in upcoming events and thus provide a vital step forward for the RB21.
“To your question, tonight we will probably think that a lot of that is probably not that specific [to the track].
“But we find out in Baku how much of the learning with the components we had this weekend and with the way we ran the car this weekend can be transferred, or not, to other tracks.”
Verstappen’s decision to keep the wing level was key to the F1 Italian GP success
According to Mekies, Italian GP winner Verstappen was key in encouraging the team to keep the wing level they had tried in the third and final practice session.
A bold choice, as the reigning Champion struggled with the balance of the RB21 in FP3.
Mekies notes that Verstappen worked with the team to find alternative solutions to regain balance, which ultimately proved successful, as the 27-year-old claimed pole and victory in the Italian GP.
“So, I guess the short answer is yes, we had a Monza-specific rear wing.
“The decision was made a long time ago.
“I guess probably a year ago.
“So that was good.
“Obviously, the wing is working well.
“On top of that, it is fair to say that on Saturday, we tried to take a step down [on the rear wing level] with Max at the very end of FP3.
“And whilst it looked a lot more difficult to get the balance right with that lower level, Max has been very strong and good at pushing us to keep it on the car and to find other solutions to give him the balance back.
“And the guys have been doing an amazing job in managing that.
“So that’s why ultimately, both cars were on a different level today.”
Italian GP victory is a reward for hard work in the factory
After the victory on Sunday, Mekies also highlighted the hard work of the team back in the factory in Milton Keynes, who did not give up after a difficult start to the season.
Despite not receiving the most positive feedback throughout what could be described as a difficult season for Red Bull, the team kept pushing.
Red Bull’s hard work was rewarded with victory in the Italian GP.
“You know, in this sort of moment, you think of the team back in Milton Keynes, the tough start of the season.
“When things are not working the way you would like them to work, when you are missing that ultimate pace, you question everything.
“That’s the way we are, that’s the way the competition is.
“You question everything, and what is great in the team is that they kept an open mind.
“They did question everything in a very constructive way.
“And it’s a lot of hard work, and you don’t always get the positive feedback from the tracks as what we got today.
“So, the thoughts are very much with everyone in Milton Keynes that have been pushing so hard not to give up.
“And again, it’s a Monza-specific layout, but it’s very much giving them back the credit of many weeks, many months of hard work in the dark.”
