Red Bull’s Team Principal Laurent Mekies opened up about the front wing issues that compromised Isack Hadjar’s race at the 2026 F1 British GP, with the Frenchman suffering an early loss of performance during Sunday’s race.
With Hadjar losing significant front-end load, the 21 year-old had his front wing adjusted during his pit stop and felt an immediate improvement in pace. Red Bull’s troubles continued as Max Verstappen crashed for the second consecutive weekend following another rear wing malfunction.
Speaking in a print media session after the race, Mekies said the team had begun investigating the issue on Hadjar’s car but admitted it was still too early to determine the root cause. He described the situation as a frustrating one for the team.
“Too early to say, we have read a lot of performance on Isack’s car, so we think it was a very good weekend. We have read a lot of performance of Isack’s car in the race, so too early to say, but it was frustrating,” he admitted.
Mekies praises Hadjar’s “strong weekend” at 2026 F1 British GP
Throughout the weekend, Hadjar showed impressive pace and often held the upper hand over Verstappen. The Frenchman even outqualified the four-time World Champion on Saturday, securing P5 while Verstappen qualified P7.
Reflecting on Hadjar’s weekend and his season so far, Mekies said: “On the positive side, I think as you pointed out as well, Isack produced a strong weekend. Honestly, he has been strong since the beginning of the season in a way that, in the bad weekend when the car was good and when the car was not good, he was able to do his own pass and to progress race after race in terms of experience and skills.”
Mekies admitted that neither Hadjar nor the team would settle with that result, despite scoring a solid haul of points with a P5 finish. Nevertheless, he added that the Frenchman continues to make encouraging progress and improve every time he is on track, giving the team plenty of positives to take away for the rest of 2026.
“He is learning a lot from Max, he is learning a bit more every time he drives the car. Today was no different, so he is not going to be satisfied with the P5 or the P4, we are not going to be either,” Mekies said.
“But certainly the big picture for us is that it is a step forward every time he goes out with the car, that is positive for the rest of the season.”
