Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies has hailed Max Verstappen’s race-winning drive at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as a “masterclass” after the Dutchman stormed to victory by over 20 seconds.
Verstappen started alongside title rival Lando Norris on the front row of the grid, and took full advantage at lights out, when the McLaren driver chopped across the track to defend the lead, but broke too late for Turn 1, and sailed wide.
Quickly establishing a margin at the front, Verstappen maintained his position throughout and, after the pit stop phase, cruised into the distance to take his sixth victory of the season.
“Well, you know, Lap 1, Turn 1, he just never gets it wrong. So that was typical Max,” assessed Mekies after the race. “He nailed it, got a good start, got Lando.
“Then, from that point, in the early phase of the race, actually, George [Russell] was able to put more pressure than what we would have thought on us. So George was properly putting pressure on us, that last maybe five or ten laps, and then he started to, I think, to drop, perhaps with graining or with something else. So the race started to become a bit more in control at that stage when George was a touch out of our DRS, let’s put it this way.
“Then there was another critical moment where George pitted, whether or not to cover him. I guess that was a bit tricky at that stage because it was not clear how fast he would go with a fresh set of hard tyres. We decided to stay out.
“Max was able to keep pushing and effectively to match George’s pace. Nonetheless, as you have seen, eight laps later when we pitted, it was still very, very close between the two, so there was little to separate them.”
When Norris, who had also dropped behind Russell at the start, moved back into second place following the pit stop phase, Verstappen was warned of the renewed pursuit from behind. But the reigning champion showed no struggle in upping his pace to compensate, minimising any concerns the pit wall may have had.
“Altogether, it was a masterclass from him, no question,” added Mekies. “On a race weekend where nobody had the proper preparations because the practice sessions were all disturbed by something or something else. To be that strong on Sunday, tyre degradations, executions, race pace, I think it’s a big well done to Max for nailing it again and to everyone back in Milton Keynes and the racetrack, because today there was a lot more than a normal race.”
The post-race disqualifications of both McLaren drivers thrust Verstappen into the heart of the Drivers’ Championship battle, as he closed to within 24 points of Norris. Prior to the dismissals, the margin was 42, with only 58 to play for across Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Speaking of his Driver’s Championship chances before this news broke, Mekies said: “In terms of driving and what he does, I think he’s as good or better than everything we have seen. There are many, many examples this year.
“Now, we know we have suffered in the first part of the season. The guys have been doing an amazing job in managing to turn around the car, and now that he’s able to fight again for the win, he does masterclass after masterclass.
“We do what we always say we are doing. We take it race by race. A win is a win. It’s easy to forget how difficult it is to win. You need to get everything right, and that’s how we look at it.”
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