Red Bull hails flawless Singapore weekend as Verstappen dominates
Laurent Mekies praises Red Bull’s remarkable turnaround but warns that further improvements are needed despite back-to-back victories
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has praised his team’s near-flawless execution at the Singapore Grand Prix after Max Verstappen completed a dominant weekend with two pole positions and two victories. However, despite the team’s impressive resurgence, Mekies insists there is still work to be done, with no major upgrades planned for the remainder of the 2026 season.
Red Bull’s performance at Marina Bay confirmed the remarkable transformation the team has undergone during the 2026 Formula 1 campaign.
Following a challenging opening phase of the championship, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has now secured consecutive Grand Prix victories at two circuits with vastly different characteristics, Sepang and Singapore.
Verstappen delivered a commanding performance throughout the weekend, claiming pole position for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix before converting each into victory.
The Dutchman’s achievement was particularly significant given that he had never previously won at Marina Bay.
Meanwhile, teammate Isack Hadjar recovered from a pit-lane start to finish tenth, securing a valuable championship point despite limited running earlier in the weekend.
For Mekies, the results reflected not only Verstappen’s exceptional ability but also the considerable progress made across Red Bull’s technical and operational departments.
Mekies praises Verstappen and Red Bull’s resurgence
« It’s an incredible feeling. The team and Max dominated the weekend after Malaysia, where we had already dominated, and you couldn’t imagine two circuits with more different characteristics, » Mekies said.
« The team did it again, Max added that touch of magic we know he has, he had fantastic pace, and it produced this incredible weekend.
« Two pole positions and two victories at a circuit where he had never won before. As so often with Max, he did it in style. »
Mekies was equally encouraged by Hadjar’s recovery, highlighting the French driver’s ability to deliver competitive pace despite the difficulties that compromised his preparation.
« I also want to add that the car’s pace was confirmed by Isack, who managed to recover from last place into the points despite completing very few laps because of us.
« He showed incredible pace by effectively going straight into the race, even if it wasn’t as visible as it was in Malaysia or Baku. That’s very positive for the future. »
The Red Bull team principal believes the team’s improved competitiveness has allowed its operational strengths to become more apparent.
« Yes, the race was very, very well executed. Huge congratulations to the team. They consistently deliver extremely strong performances and execute operations remarkably well.
« That perhaps wasn’t as visible at the beginning of the year when the car offered a little less margin, but the team was flawless, absolutely flawless this weekend. »
Milton Keynes development effort delivers results
Mekies reserved particular praise for Red Bull’s personnel at its Milton Keynes headquarters, crediting the collective effort behind the team’s improved chassis and power unit performance.
« More importantly, I’m thinking of all our people in Milton Keynes, who have managed to extract more performance from our package, both on the chassis side and the power unit side, in Pierre’s team, Ben’s team and across all our support functions.
« They enable all the brilliant minds we have to find lap time.
« That’s exactly what they’ve done. Today, we’re able to fight on a number of circuits with very different configurations, and that’s fantastic.
« It’s an excellent demonstration of the strengths we have within the team at Milton Keynes. »
Red Bull’s recent results suggest the RB22 has developed into a much more versatile package, capable of competing for victories across a wider range of circuit layouts.
That represents a significant improvement from the opening stages of the season, when the team struggled to consistently challenge at the front.
Verstappen overcomes radio problems
Despite the dominant result, Verstappen’s race was not entirely straightforward.
The Dutchman experienced radio communication problems during the Grand Prix, leaving the team potentially vulnerable had the race required more complicated strategic decisions.
Mekies admitted the situation was far from ideal, particularly given the possibility of a Safety Car intervention.
« It’s never a good feeling because the car is difficult to manage, but Max handled it extremely well, » he explained.
« Max and GP know each other very well and can communicate without the radio at key moments of the race.
« There were several of those moments. It may have looked comfortable, but any Safety Car or reset would have put us in a difficult position, and we could have had to surrender the lead. »
Nevertheless, Verstappen maintained control and secured another victory, reinforcing Red Bull’s recent competitive momentum.
No major upgrades planned for the rest of 2026
Although Red Bull has now demonstrated strong performance on several contrasting circuits, Mekies is refusing to declare Verstappen the automatic favourite for the remaining races.
Instead, he believes the team must continue approaching each event individually.
« We’ll take the races one at a time. We’ve now been competitive on several types of circuits, which is encouraging.
« So we believe that, if we do our job properly, we should be able to fight for the leading positions at the upcoming tracks. »
However, Mekies confirmed that Red Bull is not planning to introduce any further major upgrades to the RB22 before the end of the championship.
« It’s true that we don’t have any further major upgrades planned for the remainder of the season, » he said.
« We’ll see what our competitors bring. But the most important thing is that we continue learning collectively.
« Even on a weekend like this, with two pole positions and two victories, there are many things we want to improve, many things we would want to do better if we came back here.
« That’s the mindset of the team. That’s the mindset of Red Bull Racing.
« We’ll try to keep progressing and take every opportunity to learn, both for this year and for next year. »
The comments suggest Red Bull will now focus primarily on extracting additional performance from its existing package while continuing to build its understanding ahead of the 2027 season.
Verstappen’s confidence brings responsibility
Red Bull’s resurgence has also coincided with renewed stability surrounding Verstappen, who has reaffirmed his commitment to the team and expressed growing confidence in its technical progress.
Mekies acknowledged the importance of that relationship, while stressing that Verstappen’s trust places considerable responsibility on the organisation.
« We take the trust he has placed in all of us extremely seriously, » he said.
« It’s obviously extraordinary to receive that level of confidence from Max, but it comes with a great responsibility: providing him with the right technical package.
« That’s what motivates all of us. We appreciate the completely honest relationship we have with him.
« That’s how we approach racing, and that won’t change. »
Race starts remain a concern for Red Bull
Despite Verstappen’s commanding performance in Singapore, Mekies acknowledged that Red Bull still has weaknesses to address.
One particular area of concern is race starts, where Ferrari has demonstrated a competitive advantage.
Mekies admitted that Red Bull does not currently consider itself the benchmark in this area.
« That’s clearly one of the areas where we know we still have a lot of work to do.
« We’re not yet the reference in that exercise, and Ferrari is probably the recognised benchmark when it comes to starting performance. »
With Verstappen lining up ahead of both Ferraris, the opening metres of the Singapore Grand Prix represented a potential threat to his lead.
« We were starting ahead of two Ferraris, so we knew the risk, » Mekies explained.
« But Max and the team managed the situation just well enough to stay ahead, and that was an important part of the race. »
The Red Bull team principal stressed that the team would continue identifying areas for improvement regardless of its recent success.
« Once again, we’ll take the races one at a time because that’s how we operate as a team.
« We hit the reset button, take the lessons, because even on a weekend like this there are things that don’t go right.
« We move on to the next race, learn more about the car and its limitations, and continue that learning process for next season.
« And hopefully, we’ll have a few more opportunities to win before the end of the year. »
Red Bull builds momentum towards the season finale
Red Bull’s Singapore performance represents another important step in its recovery from a difficult start to the 2026 campaign.
Back-to-back victories in Malaysia and Singapore have demonstrated that the RB22 can now challenge for wins on circuits with significantly different demands.
Verstappen’s two pole positions and two victories at Marina Bay provided further evidence of the team’s progress, while Hadjar’s recovery into the points reinforced Mekies’ confidence in the underlying competitiveness of the car.
Nevertheless, with no major upgrades planned and rival teams continuing their own development programmes, Red Bull is not taking its recent success for granted.
For Mekies, the priority remains maintaining the team’s momentum, addressing weaknesses such as race starts and continuing to learn from the existing package.
Singapore may have delivered a near-perfect weekend, but Red Bull’s focus is already shifting towards the next challenge.
