Mekies after Chinese GP: 'We have learned so much'

Published on 15 March 2026 by Yvonne Huijs

The Oracle Red Bull Racing team had a tough weekend in China. Team Principal and CEO Laurent Mekies commented afterward: "The Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a very tough event for us from Friday onwards. Being on the back foot at the start of a Sprint weekend is the worst possible scenario as there is really little time to catch up and get on top of any difficulties. We knew that just getting onto the grid in Melbourne with our own PU was a major achievement in itself and it would have been naïve not to expect we would encounter reliability issues."

Max retired today because of a coolant fault. Mekies: "However, this was not our only issue as overall, performance wise, our package showed some significant shortcomings. However, we have learned so much over the past few weeks and I expect that we can be more competitive from the next round in Japan in a fortnight’s time. After that, the unfortunate but inevitable cancellation of the races in April will give all of us a chance to catch our breath and work as hard as always in Milton Keynes. We have a great group of talented people on the campus and I have full confidence that we will get through our current limitations thanks to a massive push from everyone, and improve our package rapidly."