Red Bull's Mekies Acknowledges Mercedes and Antonelli's Speed at US Grand Prix

Red Bull found themselves trailing behind Mercedes at the United States Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen ending up in third place. Kimi Antonelli's pace was simply too much, as the young Italian cruised to victory in Austin, Texas, leaving Red Bull's Team Principal Laurent Mekies to admit that "Kimi had more pace than us today."

Entering the race with the momentum of two consecutive wins in Malaysia and Singapore, Verstappen lined up beside Antonelli on the front row. However, the Dutchman couldn't mount a serious challenge at the start. Red Bull opted for a two-stop strategy, while Antonelli and Mercedes executed a one-stop plan, which paid off handsomely with a comfortable 13-second win over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who also managed to overtake Verstappen.

Mekies reflected on the performance, noting, "I don't think we can use any excuse of tyres or strategy. I think Kimi was faster than us today. Fair play, and well done to him." He acknowledged that the difference in strategy didn't significantly alter race times, with both one-stop and two-stop approaches yielding similar results. "We have suffered some fairly high deg with Max on the two sets of soft compounds," Mekies added, pointing out the challenges they faced with tire degradation.

A fresh voice on the radio for Verstappen was another subplot, as Tom Hart stepped in as race engineer, filling in for Gianpiero Lambiase, who is moving to McLaren. Mekies praised Hart's performance, saying, "I think he did an excellent job," despite the complexity of the race. Mekies expressed confidence that Hart would continue to build a strong working relationship with Verstappen.

One persistent issue for Red Bull has been their race starts, with both Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar losing positions in the opening lap. Mekies commented, "As much as we have reduced the gap to competition... we are still not the benchmark." He acknowledged that while the car has improved significantly, making them more competitive, their starts remain a weak spot. "It will require some significant design and hardware changes," he said, conceding that improvements might not be fully realized until next year.

Despite the setbacks, Mekies remains optimistic about closing the gap to their rivals. "Every race we learn, every race we come up with small ways to close the gap," he noted. However, he admitted that achieving benchmark status in race starts will take time and effort beyond this season.