Red Bull boss raises McLaren ‘psychological effect’ of Max Verstappen pressure in title race
McLaren's Qatar strategy error has opened the door to Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies admitted they were benefiting from their competitors’ less strong executions after being handed an unlikely path back into title contention.
Max Verstappen looked to be all but out of the title race come the summer break but an impressive run of form from him combined with McLaren’s ineffectiveness has left him 12 points off the title.
Red Bull relishing in rival’s mistakes says team boss
The Drivers’ Championship heads to Abu Dhabi with three contenders still alive but the supremacy of the McLaren should really have meant that number was capped at two.
Instead, incorrect strategy calls and a desire to have both drivers on an even playing field has given Verstappen a path back into the title race and he now trails leader Lando Norris by 12 points.
After Verstappen quipped McLaren had made “another” error, team boss Mekies agreed Red Bull had benefited from others’ mistakes.
“The team has been extraordinary at strong execution,” he told media including PlanetF1.com in Qatar. “So it is true, we have benefited from our competitors’ less strong executions.
“But, please, allow me to give credit to the incredible string of massively strong races, massively strong executions from the team. They never got a call wrong. They have made some very courageous decisions more than once. Sometimes we failed, but it never stopped any of them from keeping taking the risk.
“And ultimately, the execution on Sunday has been extremely, extremely strong.”
More on the title race from PlanetF1.com
👉 How Lando Norris, Max Verstappen or Oscar Piastri can win the F1 world title in Abu Dhabi
👉 McLaren to hold ‘very thorough review’ over ‘significantly penalising’ Qatar GP mistake
👉 New Qatar Grand Prix evidence emerges after Lando Norris conspiracy theory
As well as the prospect of fighting for a first Drivers’ title since 2008, Mekies also highlighted the “pressure” Verstappen was applying to McLaren with his ability to never put a foot wrong.
“I’m sure there is an element, when you are against Max as a competitor, having been on the other side of the field, there is an element where you know he just never gets it wrong.
“This puts some pressure on you. He never gets it wrong and he never misses a start. And even if he misses Turn 1, he’s going to extract more out of the tyres than most people out there. So of course, it puts pressure.
“So I think the combination of these two things is certainly playing in our favour. How much does it cost to the competition? I don’t know, but it is natural that there is a psychological effect as well.”
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