It happens randomly.
Yeah, I don’t know.
Honestly, the engine decides what it does, Max Verstappen said during the post-race press conference at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
The Red Bull Racing driver secured his victory—his third win of the year and his sixth triumph in Mexico, a location he jokingly suggested renaming Maxico
—by holding off Lewis Hamilton by less than a second after starting from fifth position. Verstappen capitalized on an internal battle between Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton during the opening lap to climb into the lead, a position he maintained for the remainder of the race.
Verstappen Considers a Conversation With His Red Bull Power Unit
The unpredictable behavior of the power unit prompted lighthearted remarks from the four-time world champion about finding a direct solution. So I don’t know.
Maybe I need to talk to the engine before the race.
Verstappen experienced similar inconsistencies with engine braking during the preceding weekend in Austin, where the power unit likewise alternated between under-slowing and overly aggressive deceleration in specific turns. Reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa also reported similar hapering with the motor braking system during the opening free practice session in Mexico while driving Verstappen’s car. Verstappen pointed to extreme thermal loads as a primary contributor to the technical headaches, stating that high operating temperatures affecting the turbocharger and surrounding components make it exceptionally difficult to calibrate everything precisely.
Laurent Mekies Praises Red Bull Strategic Execution and Start Progress
While Verstappen managed powertrain anomalies on track, Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies addressed the team’s operational strides, particularly regarding starting performance and strategic calls.
Verstappen had expressed significant pre-race apprehension regarding his launch, joking on Saturday that he had more faith in winning at a casino than getting off the line cleanly; following his two successful starts, he laughed and remarked, Laten we naar het casino gaan en kijken hoeveel geluk we nu hebben.
Mekies credited factory personnel in Milton Keynes for pushing developmental progress with the available tools, though he cautioned against overconfidence regarding future races. Red Bull deployed the ideal strategy, which came from the team on the pit wall including Hannah Schmitz. Mekies noted that the team takes a high volume of risks every single race, but praised their impressive success rate, contrasting their execution with strategic blunders historically associated with Ferrari and McLaren, as well as fewer errors from Mercedes.
Track Conditions and High-Altitude Challenges in Mexico City
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez presented distinct engineering hurdles due to its altitude of 2,286 meters above sea level—making it by far the highest-altitude circuit on the Formula 1 calendar—forcing power unit manufacturers to combat severe turbo lag in the absence of the MGU-H. Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara explained ahead of the weekend that failing to maintain adequate turbo pressure at high elevations directly impacts the operational condition and pure output of the internal combustion engine. For Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the weekend served as a demanding high-altitude baptism under current technical regulations. Prior to the event, multiple manufacturers feared severe turbo lag, while Verstappen and Isack Hadjar had harbored pre-race concerns following qualifying regarding the long run to the first corner.
Mekies emphasized that the team treated the Mexican event as a singular challenge, requiring meticulous management of car cooling, brake temperatures, and chassis setup. Although Red Bull did not possess the fastest car on the weekend, the Austrian team demonstrated once again that it uses setbacks—such as their difficult weekend in Austin—to return stronger, successfully overcoming the hurdles in Mexico.
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