After Verstappen’s sensational pit-to-P3 drive during the F1 São Paulo GP, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull’s TP, evaluated the team’s strategy. Amid questions over a possible missed win, the Team Principal disagreed with those odds.
Since the F1 Dutch GP, Red Bull figured out their RB21’s set-up better than in past rounds. That momentum ended up carrying on to the next race weekends, putting Max Verstappen back in the title contention after an unlucky start to 2025. With 3 rounds left of the current season, the Dutchman is 25 points behind Piastri in P2 and 49 points behind Norris.
Victory potential
As Verstappen’s climb from the pit lane showcased his potential after a tough weekend, the tyre strategy saw him swap his rubber three times throughout the 71-lap race. The reigning world champion had a late third stop, on lap 54, switching from mediums to softs. This decision was questioned, especially with the driver’s already powerful rise to the top.
Laurent Mekies answered the crucial question of whether Max Verstappen could have won the F1 São Paulo GP without that last pit stop. The TP’s print media response was detailed, starting with a firm negation. Although he admitted that the idea crossed the strategists’ minds, RB chose to take another approach, however:
“No. No, we don’t think it was winnable. We would probably never know where we would have finished.
But obviously, it’s a discussion that the guys had on pit wall, and at some stage you need to make the call. And the call was made, and I think it gave us a chance to have a very strong go at the podium. Ultimately, we got it.”
Additionally, Mekies took into account Red Bull’s overall performance throughout that complicated race weekend around Interlagos:
“Maybe one lap more, you would get a P2. And no, I don’t think there was any way you could have kept P1 if you just look at the entire day and where you were.”
Realistic expectations, puncture included
Sometimes, races bring out the unexpected at the most unfortunate of times. This happened in Verstappen’s case, when his first stint on hards faced an early stop after a right front puncture. According to Mekies, Red Bull’s plans for the F1 São Paulo GP did not alter much, despite the bad news so early in the race.
Nevertheless, the team was advantaged by the VSC during their time of need. This helped them get the Dutchman in for a quicker tyre swap than usual. Accepting this incident as “part of the game”, Laurent Mekies overviewed the consequences of that poorly timed puncture:
“We didn’t replace that part, but certainly it didn’t feel like good news at the time. Then, in fairness, we were a little bit helped in our disadvantage by the VSC. So it has limited a little bit the loss. But we’ve lost something for sure.
“Maybe then you go a few laps longer in the whole sequence, hard, medium. And maybe at that stage, you don’t do that final stop. But you know, would and should don’t win races like we always say. So it is what it is,” pointed out the Red Bull Team Principal.
“There was quite a few debris on the track. And it was simply a debris that got onto the higher sidewall. It’s part of the game. But it was unfortunate for sure. At that moment, with the car at the back of the field and the slow puncture, it didn’t look exactly bright.”
