Max Verstappen: Request rejected ahead of GP, team principal Laurent Mekies explains why

Max Verstappen, winner of 71 Grand Prix races, revealed ahead of the start of the breathtaking British Grand Prix that, had it been up to him, he would have started the classic Silverstone race with a fresh power unit. And with a different set-up.

Following a disappointing Grand Prix qualifying session in England – due to problems with the engine and the set-up – the 28-year-old Dutchman suggested accepting the bitter pill of a grid penalty in order to be more competitive for the Grand Prix. “If it had been up to me, I would have started the race from the pit lane.”

But Red Bull Racing rejected the idea. RBR team principal Laurent Mekies commented after the race (following Max’s crash due to a rear wing failure) on why Verstappen’s plan had not been followed.

The 49-year-old Frenchman said: “After qualifying, it was clear that Max was, to put it mildly, dissatisfied with the car’s balance. However, changing the set-up would have meant having to start from the pit lane.”

“Although we knew it wouldn’t be comfortable for Max to go into the race with an imperfect balance, we nevertheless felt that this would bring us a better result than starting from the pit lane.”

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“Of course, we discussed this with Max, and I fully accept that he sees it differently – after all, he’s the one driving the car. But I don’t think we would have made it up to third place had we started from the pit lane, even with what might have been a better race car balance.”