Red Bull Racing Team Principal Laurent Mekies: Mixed feelings after Monza qualifying

The plan was clear ahead of qualifying at Monza’s Royal Park: Liam Lawson was to provide a slipstream for his Red Bull Racing team-mate Max Verstappen during the final segment of the final practice session on the high-speed circuit, so that Verstappen could gain as much time as possible on the long straights. However, Oscar Piastri thwarted the strategy by getting in Lawson’s way at the crucial moment during the second qualifying segment.

The New Zealander missed out on a place in Q3 by more than three tenths of a second and had to settle for 14th place on the qualifying grid. Verstappen, who made it through to the top-10 shootout as the sixth-fastest driver in Q2, consequently had to get through without any help from his own team-mate. The Dutchman gave it his all, but once again could not manage better than sixth place.

He will start the 13th Grand Prix of the season from fifth on the grid, as Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking Lawson, which dropped him from third to sixth on the grid.

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies summed up the qualifying session: “We look back on qualifying with mixed feelings. Of course, we can’t be satisfied with fifth on the grid. However, we showed better pace than on Friday and have therefore demonstrated that we’ve made progress.”

“Max felt much more comfortable in the car during the third practice session, and ultimately we were closer to the pole time than in previous race weekends. The gaps between the top six drivers were very small, and we ended up on the wrong side of the split, which is naturally a bit frustrating, but that’s part and parcel of it when the field is so closely matched,” explained the Frenchman.

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“We still need to sort a few things out before the race so we can compete with the lads ahead of us. With Liam, we knew he’d have to take a grid penalty for using an engine that exceeds the permitted quota. And it’s a shame he didn’t make it through to Q3 because of traffic on the track. Overall, he’s doing a good job with us again, and I’m sure he’ll give it his all to fight his way up through the field,” added the engineer.