Laurent Mekies has confirmed that Red Bull identified the cause of Max Verstappen’s Monaco Grand Prix retirement, which struck before the race had even begun.
Verstappen felt anomalies during the formation lap and then struggled to get his RPMs into the correct window during the pre-start procedure.
The power unit failed completely the moment he released the clutch, ending his race before a single competitive lap had been completed.
Mekies confirmed the issue was engine-related and revealed the power unit had already been scheduled for replacement following the Monaco weekend regardless.
“We have identified what the issue is,” Mekies said, without going into further detail. “It developed on the formation lap and it gave him or us no chance. So that’s what it is.”
“As you may be aware, it was also the very first PU of Max this season, which was planned to be changed after Monaco,” the Red Bull team principal added.
Running an older power unit in Monaco before swapping to a fresh one ahead of Barcelona is a common tactic, as the tight street circuit is far less power-sensitive than most other venues on the calendar.
Mekies was keen to acknowledge the frustration given the pace Verstappen had shown throughout the weekend, with the Dutchman having qualified second on Saturday.
“Obviously, we can only apologise to Max because the job he had done with the team to get to that level of pace around Monaco was outstanding,” Mekies said.
Verstappen himself admitted the retirement was less painful than it might have been, given his current position of seventh in the championship standings rather than leading the title fight.
“If I would be leading the championship, then of course it’s a very, very painful one. Like this, it’s less painful, but it’s still really annoying and disappointing for everyone,” the four-time world champion said.
“We know of course that everyone wants to finish every single race, but yeah, I just hope that we understand quickly what it is and that we can fix it for the future.”
Mekies reflected on what had been a weekend of mixed fortunes, noting the team had found a strong qualifying setup after a difficult FP3 session.
“The guys have been brilliant at finding another optimum point, probably better than the Friday one, at least for qualifying,” he said.
Despite the retirement, Verstappen believes that Barcelona will provide a far more meaningful indicator of where Red Bull truly stands in 2026.
“We’ve been quick on low-speed tracks with not too many high-speed corners, which I know that has been, from what I’ve seen so far this year, a bit our weak point,” he said.
“So I hope with the changes that we made to the car it will be better, but I don’t know of course how much,” Verstappen added, tempering expectations ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.