- Verstappen’s engine died at Monaco Grand Prix start, ending his race.
- Mekies confirmed a new power unit for Barcelona after identifying the failure.
- Verstappen sits seventh in the standings, 113 points behind leader Antonelli.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has publicly apologised to Max Verstappen after a power unit failure ended the Dutchman’s Monaco Formula 1 GP before it had properly begun.
Verstappen started second on the grid, but his engine died as the lights went out, leaving him stranded as the rest of the field drove away. Mekies confirmed the team will fit a new power unit ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
What actually happened on the formation lap
The trouble started before the race. Verstappen told Sky Sports that the formation lap had already felt wrong, and the pre-start procedure made things worse.
“Already the formation lap was not going very well, and the pre-start was terrible, and then the engine dropped dead,” he said.
When he released the clutch at the start, the engine cut out entirely. He managed to steer the car clear of the oncoming field and limped it back to the pits, retiring on lap one.
Over team radio, he told his engineers the engine had broken and asked for an explanation, but none came. He was simply told to bring the car back to the pit lane.
Speaking to Sky afterwards, Verstappen described what he felt in the cockpit. “I only got a little power after one corner, and the engine sounded really awful,” he said. “I couldn’t go full throttle, so that was it.”
Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, technical director Pierre Wache and Mekies himself had no solution available at that point.
Mekies takes the blame and confirms a new engine
Later that evening, Mekies addressed reporters at the Red Bull facility in Monte Carlo and accepted responsibility without qualification. “It’s an engine issue,” he told reporters, including GPblog. He added that the failure had begun during the formation lap and left the team with no way to intervene.
Mekies also revealed that the failed power unit had already been earmarked for replacement after Monaco. “This was Max’s first power unit of the year, one that was due to be replaced after Monaco,” he said.
“But of course, this is not what we wanted.” He did not yet have full details on the precise cause, but said the team expected to identify the fault before the Barcelona weekend.
His apology to Verstappen was direct. “All we can do is apologise to Max, because the work he did with the team to achieve his pace in qualifying was outstanding,” Mekies said. Verstappen had qualified second, within 0.043 seconds of pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, and had outpaced both Ferraris.
Calm from Verstappen, but the championship picture is bleak
Verstappen’s response after the race was notably measured. He did not publicly vent his frustration beyond the radio exchange.
“If I were leading the championship, this would be a very painful one,” he said. “As it is now, it hurts a bit less, but it remains incredibly frustrating and disappointing for everyone.”
That restraint tells its own story. Verstappen sits seventh in the drivers’ standings on 43 points, far behind championship leader Antonelli, who has built a commanding advantage after five consecutive victories.
The RB22 has drawn criticism from Verstappen himself as a difficult car to drive, and Red Bull’s new in-house engine has continued to cause problems. A retirement, painful as it was, did not dramatically alter a title picture that had already shifted away from him.
The contrast with teammate Isack Hadjar made the day harder to process. Hadjar got a clean start and, despite facing a few engine issues himself mid-race, finished on the podium. With a fresh power unit now confirmed for Barcelona, Red Bull will at least head to Spain with one fewer variable to manage.
