F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Mekies hails Red Bull gains but warns of race-pace test

After Verstappen’s pole, Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies credited recent development but warned that race pace and tyre wear remain Sunday’s test.

GPBeat · Newsroom05 Oct 2026, 23:58 · 1 min

Verstappen set a lap of 1:35.130, with Hamilton second for Ferrari on 1:35.428 and Red Bull’s Hadjar third on 1:35.558. The gaps to Verstappen were 0.298 and 0.428 seconds respectively. RacingNews365 described it as Verstappen’s first pole position of the season.

Qualifying was for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, at Sepang.

Hadjar’s grid penalty means Antonelli moves up to third on the starting grid, despite Hadjar setting the third-fastest qualifying lap.

Update

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team has closed a gap that troubled it on circuits with medium- and high-speed corners earlier this season. Speaking to Viaplay after Max Verstappen qualified first and Isack Hadjar third, he described the result as the first pole position for the Red Bull Ford power unit, RacingNews365 Nederland reports.

Mekies said a major upgrade introduced in Baku was followed by smaller changes this weekend. He credited work on both the chassis and engine for improving the car, while stressing that qualifying speed alone would not decide the race.

Mekies expects extreme heat and possibly the highest tyre wear of the season. He said Red Bull has the means to compete, but must carry its qualifying pace into Sunday’s race.

Sources 02

SOURCEDominante Verstappen pakt waanzinnige pole in MaleisiëRacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-10-03
SOURCERed Bull waarschuwt voor Verstappen: "Hebben de wapens om mee te strijden"RacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-10-03

Source context

RacingNews365 published the qualifying results for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on 3 October.

RacingNews365 Nederland reported Mekies’ post-qualifying comments to Viaplay on 3 October 2026.

Claims and supporting evidence 11

RacingNews365 reports that Max Verstappen took pole with a lap of 1:35.130, ahead of Lewis Hamilton on 1:35.428 and Isack Hadjar on 1:35.558. The reported gaps to Verstappen are 0.298 and 0.428 seconds respectively.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Qualifying result Qualifying reported on 3 October 2026 These are the publication’s reported times; no independently retrieved timing record is available.

[1]

RacingNews365 describes this as Verstappen’s first pole position of the season.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Season context 2026 season, through the qualifying session reported on 3 October The season-wide claim is not independently checked against earlier qualifying results.

[1]

RacingNews365 says Hadjar has a grid penalty and that Antonelli consequently moves to third on the starting grid. It does not establish the reason for that penalty in the supplied article.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Reported starting-grid consequence Starting grid following the qualifying session reported on 3 October 2026 The penalty and resulting grid position are reported by this publication, without an independently retrieved stewards’ decision or final grid.

[1]

The publication names the race the Bahrain Grand Prix and says it is being held in Malaysia.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Event identification Race associated with the qualifying session reported on 3 October 2026 This claim records the event name and host country used by the publication; it does not cite an official event record.

[1]

RacingNews365 reports Verstappen's first pole position of 2026 and lists him first in 1:35.130, ahead of Hamilton in 1:35.428 and Hadjar in 1:35.558. The listed gap to Hamilton is 0.298 seconds.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Qualifying result associated with the reported remarks Qualifying reported on 3 October 2026 These are results as presented on the supplied page.

[2]

RacingNews365 identifies Laurent Mekies as Red Bull's team principal and presents his remarks as comments made to Viaplay cameras. The supplied material is RacingNews365's account, not a recording or transcript of the broadcast.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Attribution and source chain for the reaction After the reported qualifying session on 3 October 2026 Mekies's words are available here only through RacingNews365's report.

[2]

According to RacingNews365's account of his Viaplay comments, Mekies called first and third place an exceptional qualifying result. He said Red Bull had previously struggled on circuits with medium- and high-speed corners and assessed the former gap to its rivals as closed. That assessment is his, not an independently measured season-long comparison in the supplied material.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Mekies's assessment of Red Bull's progress First part of the 2026 season through qualifying reported on 3 October 2026 The page supplies no comparative lap-time series establishing the size of the earlier gap or how much was closed.

[2]

RacingNews365 describes this as the first pole position with the Red Bull Ford engine. Mekies likewise called that milestone special, while stressing that Saturday's qualifying result earns no points and does not decide the race.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Power-unit milestone and limits of the result Qualifying reported on 3 October 2026, ahead of the race The milestone is reported by this one publication and echoed by Mekies; it is not evidence of a race result.

[2]

Mekies said a major upgrade arrived in Baku and that smaller changes for this weekend built on it. He credited work on both the chassis and engine sides for improving the package; the source does not isolate the measured contribution of any particular change.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Car development as described by Mekies From the Baku upgrade to the qualifying weekend reported on 3 October 2026 This is Mekies's explanation of the team's development, not an independently quantified causal finding.

[2]

Mekies said Red Bull had the means to compete but was not assured of race success. He expected extreme heat and possibly the season's highest tyre wear, and identified race pace and tyre wear as decisive concerns. These are his expectations, not established race conditions or an outcome.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Mekies's outlook for the race Pre-race remarks reported on 3 October 2026 The predicted heat, tyre wear and competitiveness had not been demonstrated by a race result in this source.

[2]

The page calls the qualifying session one for the Bahrain Grand Prix 'in Malaysia' and elsewhere labels related qualifying coverage as Bahrain 2026 in Malaysia. Its calendar also lists the Bahrain Grand Prix for 4 October 2026.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Event identification within the supplied page. The event described on 3 October 2026; calendar entry for 4 October 2026. This claim records the event identification used by the publication; it does not cite an official event schedule or result.

[2]

Corrections and updates to this story

05 Oct 2026, 23:58

De onterechte twijfel over de naam en locatie van de Grand Prix is verwijderd. Bronverwijzingen en de Nederlandse beschrijving van Hamiltons kwalificatieachterstand zijn gecorrigeerd.

03 Oct 2026, 11:57

Updated with a material new development verified through a separate News Made Clear newsroom run.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.