Laurent Mekies Highlights Red Bull Recovery in Miami

Laurent Mekies believes Red Bull Racing has finally shown clear signs of recovery after the RB22 displayed improved performance during the 2026 Miami Grand Prix weekend. The Red Bull team principal highlighted the significant step forward in qualifying pace achieved by Max Verstappen compared to the opening races of the Formula 1 season.

Red Bull endured a difficult start to 2026 after falling well behind its main rivals in qualifying performance. At Suzuka, Verstappen finished approximately 1.2 seconds away from pole position, while in Shanghai the deficit remained close to a full second.

However, the situation began to improve in Miami. During Friday’s sprint qualifying session, Verstappen was still six tenths away from pole, but by Saturday’s main qualifying session the gap had been reduced to less than two tenths.

Baca JugaLaurent Mekies Soroti Kebangkitan Red Bull di Miami

According to Mekies, the improvement represents the clearest indication yet that Red Bull is beginning to understand the RB22’s main weaknesses while continuing to develop new aerodynamic and setup solutions introduced during Formula 1’s spring break.

“Yes, there is definitely a significant step forward. We left Japan 1.2 seconds away from pole and China one second away from pole,” Mekies told media including RacingNews365.

“The competition was not going to wait for us with their upgrades. Everybody is developing the car, but we knew that alongside the development race, we also had to solve some internal issues with the car, and we knew there was lap time still available.”

Mekies described Red Bull’s qualifying improvement in Miami as an important confirmation of the progress the team has managed to achieve in a short period of time. He admitted the team still does not fully understand whether the sprint qualifying pace or the grand prix qualifying performance better reflects the RB22’s true competitiveness.

“To see us only six tenths away on Friday and less than two tenths away on Saturday is a big indication of the scale of our progress. We still do not know which number is more representative, but compared to where we were previously, it is much better than anything we have shown this season,” he added.

Verstappen himself remained competitive throughout the Miami weekend after securing a front-row starting position for the main grand prix. However, a first-lap spin immediately compromised Red Bull’s podium hopes and forced the team onto an alternative strategy during the race.

Despite eventually finishing fifth, Mekies still viewed Red Bull’s overall race pace as significantly stronger than in previous rounds. According to the Frenchman, Verstappen realistically had the pace to fight inside the podium group without the early mistake.

“We probably still need a few more hours to fully understand the race pace because our strategy with Max was very different. But overall, the race pace looked strong and confirmed the positive signs we saw in qualifying.”

“Maybe not enough yet to fight for P1 and P2, but at least we are starting to fight for P3, P4, and P5. That is something we had not shown previously this season,” Mekies explained.

Despite the optimism, Red Bull insists development of the RB22 remains far from complete. Mekies warned that the upgrade battle will continue to intensify over the coming races, meaning Red Bull still needs to unlock more performance from its package if it wants to consistently challenge for victories again.