Red Bull ‘wish’ emerges as Mekies grilled on Verstappen, Hadjar team orders

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies believes that the prospect of imposing team orders on Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar is a “good problem” to have.

And he says the team “wish” to have more situations like last weekend’s race in Azerbaijan, where Hadjar put pressure on his illustrious teammate.

Red Bull ‘wish that to ourselves’ with F1 team orders

Verstappen and Hadjar were nose to tail across the first half of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend.

Red Bull’s strategy was called into question during the early stages of the Baku race, with Hadjar seemingly stuck behind Verstappen while on the more favourable soft tyres.

Despite initially agreeing to stay behind, Hadjar grew increasingly frustrated, believing that he was being held back from challenging Oscar Piastri ahead.

However, once the pair switched compounds, Verstappen’s pace shone through as he charged into the distance, missing out on the race win by just 0.196 seconds from George Russell.

“Baku was outstanding from Isack, and he should get the praise for that, because coming back after six weeks and doing what he did in terms of race pace, in terms of how cleverly he raced, was really outstanding,” Mekies told Sky F1.

“I think it’s a good problem to have if we get to the situations you are talking about.

“Honestly, it was a very strong teamwork and team spirit last race, and I think both drivers are on board when it comes to maximising the team results.

“And if we get to have to make difficult decisions in the future, it means that we are in a very, very strong position. So we only wish that to ourselves.”

Team orders are less likely to be an issue this weekend, however, with Hadjar taking an engine penalty in Malaysia.

Looking ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

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Why is the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place in Malaysia?

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix “more like surviving”

F1 races in Malaysia this weekend as Sepang hosts the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix.

The track was last used by F1 in 2017, and has one of the roughest track surfaces on the calendar. Added to the extreme heat, the drivers face one of the sternest tests of the year.

Speaking after Verstappen had topped the opening session of the weekend, Mekies said: “It’s more like surviving out there because really these sort of conditions.

“Both the temperatures and the extreme constraint on the tyres, with the track very rough and the very high energy, I think it’s putting everyone a little bit off their normal operating windows.

“So, I think we are all trying to get back into these windows, and how is that moving us into the pecking order? We will soon find out.”

Tyre degradation showed to varying degrees across the field, with Mercedes seeming to suffer more than most.

Mekies added: “We saw the high deg of the Mercedes, but it’s a bit what we are discussing.

“Everybody is off the window right now, okay, and therefore let’s see how the pecking order evolves.”

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