Laurent Mekies has admitted Max Verstappen was justified in his anger after Red Bull suffered another rear-wing-related failure at high speed during the British Grand Prix.
Verstappen crashed out at Stowe with four laps remaining, ending a likely podium finish and triggering the late Safety Car period that froze the Silverstone result. It followed a separate but similar failure at the previous round in Austria, deepening concern around Red Bull’s RB22 reliability.
Formula 1’s official report said Mekies accepted Verstappen was right not to be happy, with Red Bull now reviewing the full rear-wing area before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Red Bull issue now bigger than one DNF
The failure matters because Verstappen had already questioned Red Bull’s direction after qualifying, when he wanted to break parc ferme, change the power unit and alter the set-up. The team kept him on the grid, prioritising track position, but the late retirement has turned that call into a sharper reliability debate.
Read Motorsport reported after the race that Verstappen’s Stowe exit left Red Bull’s Silverstone weekend exposed. Mekies’ comments now move the story from driver frustration to team accountability.
Why Spa now matters
Red Bull has used its current rear-wing concept since Miami, but Mekies insisted all options remain open. That makes Spa a pressure point: another repeat would not look like misfortune. It would look structural.
- Primary keyword: Max Verstappen Red Bull crash
- Next race pressure: Belgian Grand Prix reliability response
