Mekies says Norris cost Verstappen a chance to fight for pole in Mexico

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Archive photograph: Laurent Mekies at Web Summit in Lisbon on 11 November 2025. Archive photo. Resized and converted to WebP. · 2025-11-11Archive photo · 2025-11-11 · Alex Broadway / Web Summit / Sportsfile · CC BY 4.0

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said Verstappen was fastest in his final Q3 attempt until Lando Norris hindered him in the last sector, costing him a chance to fight for pole. Verstappen had qualified fourth but was due to start fifth after a grid penalty for an incident with Liam Lawson.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 04 Nov 2026, 07:05 · 1 min

Laurent Mekies said Max Verstappen had been the fastest driver on track in his final Q3 attempt until Lando Norris hindered him in the last sector. The Red Bull team principal said the interruption cost Verstappen a chance to fight for pole in Mexico.

Before the race, Verstappen had qualified fourth but was set to start fifth after a grid penalty for an incident with Liam Lawson.

Mekies described qualifying as a turnaround after a difficult start to the weekend. He said Red Bull had made a significant step forward compared with Friday, although Verstappen's final Q3 lap had not gone to plan.

With Verstappen set to start fifth, Mekies said Red Bull would try to put its rivals under pressure and stay ready to take advantage of anything that happened ahead. He expected a long race that would be demanding for the chassis and engine and would test tyre management.

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