– Max Verstappen was once again close to securing his first race win of the 2026 Formula 1 season on the Madrid circuit in Spain. In the end, the Red Bull driver had to settle for second place in a hard-fought race, beaten only by Andrea Kimi Antonelli. With second place, the Dutchman secured his sixth podium finish of the current championship. How competitive the Bulls were was already evident on Saturday: In qualifying, Verstappen was only 0.140 seconds behind polesitter Lando Norris.
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Team principal Laurent Mekies highlights the progress the team has made over the season: “First of all, it was a strong performance – whether it was the best of the year, I don’t know, but certainly the best in a long time. It’s a good confirmation of the pace we had in Monza.”
“Being so close to the fastest car in Monza, to Kimi – and again today: Yesterday, on a much more complicated track, we were only one and a half tenths off pole,” Mekies continues. “On a completely different track with extremely varying cornering speeds. So it was extremely encouraging to have such a small gap on such a circuit.”
Qualifying and race solid
After the motivating qualifying, followed an equally confident race from the four-time Formula 1 world champion, even though he is still waiting for his first full success in 2026. “And today in the race, in my opinion, the same picture emerged. To be fair, Kimi was of course faster than us in the race,” Mekies admits honestly.
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“And probably Lando was faster in the race as well. But we’re not talking about a huge gap here, more like one or two tenths. So it’s definitely a clear improvement compared to Zandvoort a few weeks ago and probably also compared to Budapest or Silverstone. That’s positive,” the Red Bull mastermind is pleased.
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Nevertheless, Mekies makes it unmistakably clear: “Regarding the question of whether we could have won the race: No, I don’t think we could have won. First, because they were simply faster. Second, because the people at the command center, in my opinion, did a first-class job – as painful and difficult as that decision was at the moment.”
Command center: The win was not possible
Mekies refers to the key moment when Verstappen lost significant ground: The champion had to voluntarily give up two positions to avoid an impending time penalty. The Red Bull strategists preempted the race stewards and did not wait for an official instruction – much to Verstappen’s frustration.
Photo gallery: Madrid: Driver ratings by Marc Surer and the editorial team
“They analyzed the situation as objectively as possible and made a quick, uncompromising decision,” Mekies stands behind his team. “And I think it would have been extremely difficult to avoid a penalty, as frustrating as this situation is. But I think it would have been hardly possible. And once you pick up five or ten seconds, it can ruin a race in many ways – but it certainly doesn’t put you in a better position than second place.”
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