Red Bull chief: no simulator can predict what Verstappen is capable of
Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Mekies says no simulator would have predicted Max Verstappen climbing from 21st to second. The Dutch driver started from the back row after exceeding his engine allocation.
The head of the Red Bull Formula 1 team, Mekies, said after the race that no simulator in the world could have foreseen what his driver Max Verstappen achieved on track. The Dutchman started 21st and finished second, strengthening his place in the season standings.
Verstappen was sent to the back of the grid because he had exceeded the permitted number of engines. Before the race he had warned that overtaking is harder this year than in the past, yet he gained 14 positions within five laps.
Asked by the media what the team's computers and simulations had predicted for Verstappen's chances, Mekies replied that there is no simulator able to forecast that, adding that Max regularly outperforms simulators.
The penalty and the new engine
Mekies did not hide his disappointment over the starting position, as the pace looked good on Friday, on Saturday morning and, to some extent, in the first qualifying session, when the team secured a place in the second one. He stressed that this is Red Bull's first season with its own power unit and that this weekend was only the first penalty the team has taken with Verstappen. It was not planned, he said, but a small problem on Friday forced the team's hand.
Until 2026 the team used Honda engines. It now competes as a full factory team with its own Red Bull Powertrains engine, developed in cooperation with Ford.
Championship picture
Verstappen is second in the F1 standings with 279 points, ahead of George Russell (262), Lewis Hamilton (261) and Charles Leclerc (249). He can no longer win the title, but the fight for second place in the championship is expected to be tight in the final races.
