'Step in the right direction' – Mekies reflects on Red Bull's 'intense' Italian Grand Prix weekend

Laurent Mekies believes Red Bull made a "step in the right direction" during last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen claimed another podium.

The Dutchman finished best of the rest in Sunday's 53-lap race behind the Mercedes machines of race winner Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, having battled with the duo and even briefly leading.

Red Bull expected to struggle against Mercedes-powered cars along Monza's straights, with Team Principal Mekies pleased that Verstappen was able to beat the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

"Today was a well-deserved podium for Max and the whole team," he said.

"It was an intense weekend, but the race showed that our pace was fairly strong. Mercedes were a bit too fast for us but we were strong enough to beat Ferrari and McLaren on merit. It was probably our best race pace in a few weeks and a step in the right direction.

"We won't be happy until we have that ultimate speed and we clearly still have some challenges to overcome, which may unlock more performance once we get to the bottom of them."

The result was Verstappen's fifth podium of the season and his third in the last four races as Red Bull continue to find improvement after a slow start under the new-for-2026 regulations.

Team mate Liam Lawson, standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar again, was unable to reach the points.

The New Zealander was due to start from the back after several power unit element changes, but started from the pit lane after further changes to his set up were made in parc ferme – while replacing a damaged front wing in the race ultimately meant he finished in P14.

"Max has been incredible on track today. He made several very spectacular overtakes and defensive manoeuvres and drove an aggressive strategy which led us to the podium," added Mekies.

"Liam showed good pace after a challenging start of the race from the back of the grid following his PU penalties. Contact with Nico [Hulkenberg] meant we had to change his front wing and ultimately killed his chance for points.

"We take the improved pace and many learnings from Monza, and look forward to the very new circuit of Madrid in a few days."