Andrea Stella expressed concerns about Red Bull following the power unit change ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Laurent Mekies responded swiftly to the allegations.
After a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday at Interlagos, the Austrian team decided to gamble everything on Max Verstappen by changing his power unit and making several adjustments before the race. This led to a penalty for the Dutch driver, forcing him to start the Grand Prix from the pit lane. Despite these challenges, the four-time world champion delivered a remarkable recovery, climbing all the way to third place over the 71 laps in São Paulo.
McLaren’s main question was whether this power unit change exceeded Red Bull’s maximum budget cap. Andrea Stella argued that such engine modifications, if not justified by reliability issues, should fall under the cap. Red Bull, however, made the decision regardless, raising concerns for the McLaren team.
Stella’s comments
“To be honest, this type of modification to the power unit raises questions about the regulations,” Stella said regarding Mekies’ and Red Bull’s choice in Brazil. “I’m interested in understanding whether the cost of this engine is included within the budget cap or not.”
“If the change was made for performance reasons, then it should count towards the spending limit. We will see if that is the case. Of course, we can’t verify it ourselves, as it concerns only Red Bull. We just want clarity.”
McLaren believes Red Bull should declare the cost of the new power unit under the 2025 budget cap. The challenge, however, is that the rule Stella referenced has not yet been formally added to the regulations, creating a gray area that could provide a minor advantage to teams taking liberties without affecting their official costs.
Mekies’ response
Laurent Mekies defended Red Bull openly and explained the reasoning behind their decision. “It’s always nice to have a new engine,” he said. “We made this choice because Max [Verstappen] was starting from the pit lane anyway. To be honest, we were on track to finish the season without needing a new engine.”
“We took the opportunity because we also wanted to modify the car. The differences are small, but at this level, every detail matters,” the Red Bull sporting director concluded.
In a way, Laurent Mekies confirmed Andrea Stella’s point: the power unit change was not strictly necessary but intended to boost performance for the Grand Prix. According to McLaren, this is precisely why such modifications should impact the team’s budget cap for 2025.
Leave a Reply