Laurent Mekies is not surprised by the lead of the Mercedes team in Melbourne. The Frenchman agrees with Max Verstappen’s earlier conclusion that the Silver Arrows were still ‘playing games’ in Bahrain to hide the true pace of the W17. Nevertheless, Red Bull itself is not going to sit back because of the current gap to Mercedes: ‘A place in the top-four is the right starting point’.
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Red Bull started the new season with a sixth place, thanks to the impressive catch-up race by Max Verstappen in Melbourne. The Dutchman started his first qualifying of the season in dramatic fashion, when he already went off the track during his first fast lap. The world champion was able to make up fourteen places in the race a day later, but could not get past old rival Lando Norris.
Team principal Laurent Mekies was not surprised by his team’s gap to Mercedes and Ferrari. “We had predicted, after the pre-season tests, that we would be fourth,” he told the media in Melbourne. “In hindsight, I think that was quite accurate. This weekend it was probably even slightly better, as Isack (Hadjar, ed.) was in third place on the grid after a flawless qualifying. So he did an excellent job there to get the maximum out of everything. In the race, we probably have to say that we were at least on the same level as McLaren, but certainly not able to compete with Ferrari or Mercedes.”
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Mercedes’ games
“That is something we are aware of. We have the ambition and the duty to map out a path to catch up with these guys,” Mekies remains combative. “That will take some time. But no, it was no surprise.” According to the Frenchman, the race pace of the Silver Arrows in Melbourne is proof that Mercedes kept their cards close to their chest in Bahrain. “Regarding the difference with Mercedes, we said after the tests that it was very difficult to judge, because we knew that games were being played to hide the pace,” the team principal agrees with Verstappen’s earlier statements. “So I would not say we are surprised by the difference we see here.”
Still, Mekies was happy to see how well the Red Bull power unit can compete at the front of the Formula 1 field. “The prevailing feeling for us is that we are in the fight,” said the team principal, who does not yet dare to predict whether the Austrian racing stable will also compete for the world titles. “We are in the fight because the season is very long. A place in the top-four is the right starting point given the state of affairs of the project. We have the ambition and the duty to pursue that goal.”
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