Laurent Mekies praised Red Bull’s aggressive team spirit and Isack Hadjar’s first F1 podium. Max Verstappen pushed hard in the Dutch GP at Zandvoort.

Verstappen attacks at Zandvoort, Laurent Mekies: “A true Red Bull spirit race”

Max Verstappen, the home crowd favorite, left nothing on the table during the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, showcasing relentless attacking racing.

A race always on the offensive

Starting on soft tires, with the middle stint on medium tires, and restarts from the Safety Car always on softs, Verstappen and Red Bull continuously tried to challenge the two McLarens at Zandvoort. From the start, Verstappen managed to slip past Lando Norris with a daring move at the entrance of Turn 3. However, despite having a tire advantage in terms of temperature, he never really threatened the Papaya cars and ultimately finished second, benefiting from Norris’ retirement.

Team principal Laurent Mekies highlighted the “Red Bull spirit” in always racing on the attack: “Certainly, for Max, this result was the absolute maximum he could get from the car. We had a very aggressive approach, starting on soft tires, and Max delivered another fantastic first lap. This strategy carried some risks; we knew the McLarens had the pace, and we knew it would be difficult to beat them. Starting on that tire was probably the only way to try and challenge them. Max did an excellent job managing the soft tires and was positive with the mediums, really pushing in a race that embodied the Red Bull spirit.”

“Even Tsunoda finished in the points, rounding off a very positive Sunday for us. Yuki made good progress, although the timing of the first Safety Car didn’t work in his favor, otherwise he could have aimed for an even better result. Huge congratulations to Racing Bulls and Isack Hadjar for his first-ever podium: it’s a special day for Red Bull, and he truly deserves it. Sharing the podium with Max must have been very special for him,” Laurent Mekies added.