Laurent Mekies on the Verstappen crash: “In our situation, you have to take a risk”

A strange end to this thrilling final practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix: just as Max Verstappen’s battle with his rivals from Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren was reaching its climax, the Dutchman flew off the track.

George Russell – apparently with the full approval of the FIA, the world motorsport governing body – eased off the throttle slightly, but remained quick enough to clinch pole position. No wonder a few eyebrows were raised.

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies said of the astonishing end to the final practice session: “Everyone could see that Max was on a blindingly fast lap. He was just a few hundredths off pole.”

“What happened next is a bit strange for us too. We’ll take another look at the car at our leisure.”

“Would Max have been quick enough for pole? Probably not. But I think it could have been a very close call in the battle for second place on the grid.”

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Read more

TV program

Today

Budapest: Das Rennen Re-Live

FIA Formula One World Championship

26.07.2026 - 17:15

“It’s a shame how it ended, but we must also bear in mind that the pace in qualifying was encouraging. The latest improvements are paying off; we’re heading in the right direction.”

“Of course, major evolution packages like the one we brought to Austria change a car’s handling. It’s not easy to get the car into the sweet spot; Max, Isack Hadjar and the engineers have worked extremely hard.”

“We’ve tried everything to fine-tune the set-up as much as possible, but we also believe that more work will unlock further potential. And then the driver has to get the most out of the car. That puts even more pressure on us. But these are exactly the steps we need to take to close the gap to the front.”

Does Red Bull Racing have enough of the new parts in Styria to avoid having to make any compromises for the race? Laurent Mekies assures us: “We’ll be well prepared for the Grand Prix, don’t worry.”

On Saturday evening, the Red Bull Racing technicians prepared a new chassis for Verstappen. Changing the cockpit is permitted and does not incur a penalty. Max Verstappen will start the Austrian Grand Prix from fifth on the grid.