Max Verstappen’s P2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix: Team Principal Mekies on the three reasons

Max Verstappen finished second at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix – a result that could have netted a tidy sum on a sports bet. Although Max started the race from P4, “we were gifted two places due to the penalties for Hamilton and Antonelli”.

The Dutchman wasn’t particularly optimistic ahead of the race: “I had the same car as in qualifying, so I was facing the same problems. And I had my hands full during the race. But then a few things went our way – I got off to a good start, I managed to overtake Hamilton later on at a crucial moment in the race and then kept him behind me.”

As if that weren’t enough, as Max continues: “I was then given soft tyres for the final part of the race, which I thought was quite a bold move, but it paid off. And then the team kept me out on the track during the VSC phase, whilst the Ferraris went in for fresh tyres again.”

“To be honest, I’m not quite sure how we managed to finish second, but I’ll gladly take it. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies commented on RBR’s surprise result: “I think there were three key factors behind this fine second place. Firstly, our race pace was better than our pace in practice. That wasn’t necessarily to be expected, as we’d had major problems with the car’s balance.”

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“The second factor is what we call our ‘Max factor’ here – Verstappen overtook Hamilton, which was crucial during the race, and he later managed his soft tyres perfectly, even though he had to drive on them for so long.”

“And then there’s our strategy team. We decided to keep Max out during the VSC phase and not give him fresh tyres. We felt that his position on the track was more important than new tyres. That proved to be the right call. Our pit stops were also very good.”