Racing
© Morio
Max Verstappen salvaged a deeply difficult Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with second place behind Lando Norris, giving Red Bull a result team boss Laurent Mekies called a clear step forward even as he conceded McLaren still had more pace.
That outcome looked unlikely after a bruising build-up at the Hungaroring. Verstappen had qualified only sixth and described the RB22 in stark terms, saying Red Bull had “no tire degradation, but car degradation.” He said his “whole qualifying was simply crap” and blamed a loss of downforce that left the car “not drivable,” adding: “You turn in and the car snaps, it’s impossible to do.”
Sunday still did not become straightforward. Verstappen continued to fight the car over the radio, first complaining that “the damping has gone again” and saying the car was “completely” gone. He later asked the team to “please do something about the shifting, and don’t say afterwards that it is because of my way of shifting.” After his final stop, when Red Bull put him on soft tires for the run to the finish, he was still unconvinced, warning with around 30 laps left: “But these are already gone. It is unbelievable.”
Even with those issues, Verstappen stayed in contention throughout and converted a troubled package into Red Bull’s strongest result of the weekend. Speaking to Viaplay after the race, Mekies said the team knew it did not have enough speed to stay with Norris, but did have enough to remain in the fight and take on Ferrari.
“Really great work from Max, Isack and the team,” Laurent Mekies, Red Bull team boss, told Viaplay. “Verstappen then delivered a Special Max, and as is often said: if he already does this when he is not happy with the balance, just imagine what he can do when he is.”
Mekies said that was the key significance of the afternoon. Red Bull had not shown this level of race pace earlier in the weekend, and while both drivers still struggled with the car, he called it “good news” that Verstappen could race at the front and battle the Ferraris. He also described it as “a nice step forward compared to where we were earlier in the weekend” and “a strong result after Spa.”
The team also had to manage a messy strategic race. Mekies said the pit wall faced “a lot of blue flags, traffic, a virtual safety car and choices around the pit stops,” including the call not to bring Verstappen in under the VSC. He also pointed to an earlier moment when Red Bull chose not to cover Lewis Hamilton’s stop. Mekies called those decisions tense, but said the strategists on the pit wall are people who “never get it wrong.”
The finish strengthened Red Bull’s sense that it is moving forward, but it also underlined the limit of that progress. Verstappen could turn a car he had branded almost undriveable into second place, yet Red Bull still could not match Norris for outright race-winning pace. Mekies said the team “will not be satisfied until we find that last bit of lap time” and must also find a way to make weekends “less difficult” for itself, which leaves the next step clear even after a strong recovery on a tricky circuit.