Max Verstappen reflects on a ‘dramatic’ Hungarian Grand Prix. In the qualifiers, the Red Bull driver could only manage the eighth fastest time, and in the race, he fell back to ninth place. Consequently, the Dutchman enters the summer break trailing significantly behind both McLaren drivers. Team boss Laurent Mékies apologized after the race – the Frenchman regrets that Red Bull could not provide their four-time world champion with the car he deserves.
“Sorry Max, we didn’t give you the car you deserve,” Mékies communicated over the radio. “Thank you for fighting so hard.” After the race, the team boss explained where things went wrong in Hungary. “To be very honest, it was a difficult weekend from the start,” he told Viaplay. “We clearly missed something crucial. We tried all sorts of things with Yuki Tsunoda and Max, to regain the level of grip we previously had.”
According to Mékies, the problem was not with the setup of the RB21. “The balance was not the problem, we simply had no grip,” he explained. “We tried a lot, but we never felt that the car was in the right window – not in the qualifiers, and not in the race. The guys gave everything, but the underlying speed was simply not sufficient to really compete for the prizes,” he concluded. “This is painful, but these are precisely the moments from which you learn a lot. This allows you to make strides and I am sure we will do that.”
