Laurent Mekies admitted that Red Bull never gave Max Verstappen a car capable of competing for the win at the Hungarian GP last weekend.
Read more At home, Martelli debuts on the outer ring of Cuiabá for NASCAR Brazil
The four-time world champion crossed the finish line in second place, but was never close to threatening the winner Lando Norris, who finished with a 15-second advantage.
“I think we never managed to give Max and Isack a car that allowed them to push the pace. If I look at the drivers’ feedback in Spa or Austria, they probably would have said the car was at an adequate level in terms of feel and what it allowed them to do,” he said.
“That didn’t happen this weekend. The situation was certainly worse on Friday and Saturday compared to today, but even today, I have to say the car probably didn’t give good feedback to the drivers,” he added.
Read more F1: Mercedes admits uncertainty about Russell’s engine after failure in Hungary
Meanwhile, in Mekies’ eyes, it is encouraging that only Norris was faster than Verstappen in Budapest, despite the RB22’s problems. “I think it’s fair to say that only Lando was clearly faster than Max today. I believe he could have matched or beaten everyone else. So, I consider that positive, as it means we have room to improve with the current package.”
“We will try to understand why we are always on the edge of the car’s balance, the balance in the corners, the difference between the car performing well and not. It has been hard work, certainly for the drivers, but also for the team, in these last races, to keep the car within its ideal operating window,” he concluded.
Read more F1: Failure of blue flags at the Hungarian GP generates criticism from Coulthard
