Mekies thinks Red Bull car is getting ‘stronger and stronger’ after Verstappen’s podium and Hadjar’s fightback at Spa

Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies hailed a “very strong” result for the squad at the Belgian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen scoring a podium finish and Isack Hadjar charging from the back of the grid to sixth position.

Verstappen and Red Bull arrived at Spa-Francorchamps after tricky weekends in Austria and Britain, where unusual Qualifying and Grand Prix crashes for the Dutchman led to the team removing their rotating ‘macarena’ rear wing from both cars.

Verstappen went on to qualify second, aided by a perfectly executed tow from Hadjar (who had committed to taking a power unit-related grid penalty), before converting that into third on race day – losing track position to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by pitting just before a Virtual Safety Car period.

Reflecting on Verstappen’s race, and whether even more might have been possible, Mekies told Sky Sports F1: “Yeah, unlucky with the VSC, because I think he would have been on merit ahead of Charles, but it is part of racing, there is nothing we can do.

“First, it is a very strong result for everyone back at [the factory in] Milton Keynes who has worked so hard to get the car stronger and stronger.

“We have made a step forward after Austria and it was a bit more of a difficult weekend in Silverstone, and here we have confirmed that we can fight for podiums pretty much at every circuit.

“The last bit to get is the most difficult, and [race winner] Kimi [Antonelli] had still a sizeable advantage, but everyone is working very hard to close that gap.”

Mekies also praised the efforts of Hadjar, who climbed from the back row of the grid – given his penalty for taking on new power unit elements – to sixth with an aggressive three-stop strategy.

“As always, the team is very, very strong with these sorts of strategic choice,” added Mekies. “It was not an obvious one, and they made it stick once again.

“I have to say, Isack’s pace was fantastic, the same one as the top three guys and he cuts through the field and managed to keep Lando [Norris] behind.

“Certainly his best race with us. Every time he goes out in that car he is making a step forward, and it is good to have two very strong cars now.”