Mekies hails Verstappen’s ‘unbelievable’ pole as Red Bull prepare to ‘extract everything we can’ for Abu Dhabi finale

Laurent Mekies has praised Max Verstappen for an “unbelievable” performance that saw the Dutchman secure pole position in Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the Red Bull boss admitting that the squad will try to “extract everything we can” for race pace in Sunday’s crucial title decider.

While Verstappen had not set the pace during any of the three practice sessions at the Yas Marina Circuit, the four-time World Champion outpaced his championship rivals in Q3 of Qualifying to seal the first slot on the grid, having pumped in an unbeatable lap time of 1m 22.207s.

This means that he will start ahead of Lando Norris – who leads the Drivers’ standings by 12 points from Verstappen – in second, with the other title-contending McLaren of Oscar Piastri taking third place.

It also proved to be a team effort for Red Bull during the opening runs of Q3, with Yuki Tsunoda – who went on to qualify in 10th – providing a tow which helped Verstappen to set an initial benchmark.

Reflecting on the squad’s Qualifying afterwards, Team Principal Mekies told F1 TV: “Amazing job from everyone. Max did a pole [lap] twice today, on both his runs in Q3. It was an unbelievable performance.

“Very, very proud of the team – we were not the fastest car out there yesterday, and we finished yesterday nearly four tenths off McLaren on the short runs.

“Of course it’s difficult to read the Fridays, but the car really has improved compared to where we were yesterday, certainly in Qualifying conditions, so big credit to everyone back at the factory and at the track to have nailed the right window for our car today and extracted everything and more.

“Both drivers did a fantastic job, both cars in Q3, Yuki helping with a tow on the first run and Max posting two unbelievable laps, so very happy. No points for Saturday, but we can now concentrate on trying to extract everything we can for the race pace.”

In terms of how the Milton Keynes-based outfit are approaching Sunday’s decisive race, Mekies outlined that the team will “concentrate on ourselves”.

“The focus now will go simply in trying to see what can we do to extract the last half a tenth of race pace tomorrow, based on what we have learned today,” the Frenchman explained. “As you know there is a limited amount of things we can do on the car, but that’s all we will be focusing on.

“And the rest, we don’t control what’s behind us, so what matters is that we go tomorrow in the race with the fastest race car possible. It’s a track where you can overtake, so it will be dominated by pure race pace tomorrow.”

And as they head into a season finale where the World Championship is on the line, Mekies spoke of the atmosphere within Red Bull as being “fantastic”.

“You have to remember, we work all our lives to be involved in this sort of championship finale,” he conceded. “It doesn’t happen every year, to have that sort of level of intensity, that sort of level of competitiveness, and it’s great for everyone.

“We are all passionate about the sport, and whatever happens in the race tomorrow, it’s a sensational end of the season for the team. They should be proud, and we’ll give it the best possible go tomorrow.”