Red Bull defends ordering Verstappen to surrender two places at Spanish GP

Max Verstappen crossed the line second at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, behind race winner Kimi Antonelli, after Red Bull ordered him to give back two positions mid-race to avoid a stewards’ investigation. Team principal Laurent Mekies has defended the call, insisting a five- or ten-second penalty would have been the likely alternative.

The sequence began on the opening lap when Verstappen battled Lewis Hamilton for third and cut the corner, rejoining the track ahead of the Ferrari driver. Hamilton immediately radioed his team — and, by extension, race control, which monitors team communications — to flag that Verstappen needed to hand the position back.

The situation had grown more complicated by that point. Antonelli had endured his own chaotic start, cutting corners and being required to yield a place to Lando Norris, which left the Mercedes driver slotting between Hamilton and Verstappen in the order. Giving Hamilton his position back therefore meant conceding to Antonelli as well.

When Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase relayed the instruction, Verstappen pushed back sharply on the radio. “What the f*** are you guys talking about?” he told the team. “He would’ve shunted it. Like, what are you guys talking about? If I just stay on the track, I am out of the race.”

Despite his objections, Verstappen complied on lap four, allowing both Antonelli and Hamilton through before working his way back up to second by the finish.

Mekies stressed that the decision was made entirely by the pit wall, without any direct instruction from race control — meaning had Verstappen stayed ahead, the matter would have been referred to the stewards.

“It’s always going to be a painful and a difficult decision, but the guys on the pit wall had a very, very good look at it and did the analysis fast, because we had to make decisions fast,” Mekies told F1 TV. “We were not expecting the ‘thank you’ email at that moment from Max in the car, but we felt it was better to take the pain at that moment and to fight back after, which Max has done exceptionally well as always, rather than wait and risk bigger penalties that could have been more costly later on.”

Mekies indicated the potential sanction from the stewards could have been five or ten seconds — a punishment that, depending on timing, might have cost Verstappen far more than the two places he ultimately surrendered.