Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has denied the team squandered a chance to win Formula 1‘s Sao Paulo Grand Prix with its decision to pit Max Verstappen a third time.
Verstappen mounted a remarkable comeback at Interlagos as he charged from the pit lane to the podium, taking third behind Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Dutchman encountered a setback on the seventh lap when he had to make an unscheduled stop due to a slow puncture, negating the progress that he had made.
However, Verstappen pumped in two strong stints on the Medium compound to be in a position to inherit the race lead when Norris stopped a second time on Lap 50.
But while he exited the pit lane over six seconds behind Verstappen, Norris didn’t have to pass his rival on track as Red Bull called the Dutchman in just four laps later.
Explaining its call, Mekies revealed that the team viewed beating Norris as unrealistic and thus wanted to ensure Verstappen had the best chance to secure a podium.
“No, we don’t think it was winnable,” Mekies told media including Motorsport Week.
“We would probably never know where we would have finished, but obviously it’s a discussion that the guys had on the pit wall.
“At some stage you need to make the call, and the call was made. I think it gave us a chance to have a very strong go at the podium. Ultimately we got it.
“Maybe one lap more you would get a P2. No, I don’t think there was any way you could have kept a P1 if you just looked at the tyre deg and where you were.”
Verstappen supports Red Bull decision
Verstappen, who overtook George Russell but was unable to make a move on Antonelli to grab second, backed Red Bull’s choice to relinquish a vague shot at the win.
“Just a very strong race,” he summarised. “I think we had much better pace.
“I think it was a bit colder today, which maybe helped us. The car just felt a bit more responsive.
“Even with the puncture that I picked up on the Hard, to then drop back to last and come through the field again on the Mediums, I think we did the right strategy at the end.
“Even on the Soft, it seemed like it was OK. Just when you start getting close and I passed George, you already wear your tyres a bit.
“And then when I was getting close to Kimi, the tyres just started to overheat and you lose a lot of grip. The Soft is a bit more difficult than the Medium for that.
“But overall, a super strong race. Coming from the pit lane to the podium, 10, 11 seconds off the lead. I think for us it’s a very strong result.”
READ MORE – How Max Verstappen went from Q1 exit to the podium in Brazil
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