Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies confirmed why Max Verstappen was forced to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix, ending his hopes of a first Formula 1 win of 2026.
The Dutchman started the race second on the grid in the principality, but upon getting away at lights out, the RB22 stuttered and tumbled down the order, before being forced to retire after the first lap.
Verstappen’s DNF left Andrea Kimi Antonelli to resist the fight of the Ferraris and take victory, giving the Italian a 68-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with Verstappen seventh in the standings, 113 points behind.
This is an early blip with the team’s first in-house power unit, built with Ford, and Mekies revealed that the four-time World Champion’s first PU change of the season was going to come regardless.
“We have identified what the issue is”, the Milton Keynes-based squad’s Team Principal cryptically told media, including Motorsport Week, after the race.
“It developed on the formation lap and it gave him or us no chance. So that’s what it is.
“As you may be aware, it was also the very first PU of Max this season, which was planned to be changed after Monaco.”
Mekies continued: “It’s not what we wanted. Obviously, we can only apologise to Max because the job he had done with the team to get to that level of pace around Monaco was outstanding.
“Probably early days to discuss what the fix is, but we think we have identified what the issue is.”
With this week’s Barcelona Catalunya Grand Prix providing a challenge that brings victory through engine power, Verstappen and Red Bull will be looking to prove their worth with Mercedes still the runaway team.
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