Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says everyone in the Formula 1 paddock agrees the world championship needs to return to “flat-out qualifying” as soon as possible.
F1’s new power units, with nearly 50% electrical power, mean energy management has become a key factor of performance. In qualifying, this translates into downshifting and/or lifting and coasting before corners, and refraining from taking fast curves flat out in order to save energy and deploy it elsewhere.
While the new-style racing has generated some positive comments, qualifying has got a negative reception so far as it doesn’t challenge drivers the way it used to.
“If there is one thing we all agree [on] – all teams, FIA, F1 and the drivers – it is that we all would like to see qualifying to be flat-out qualifying, or as close as possible to flat-out qualifying,” Mekies said following the Japanese Grand Prix. “So, it’s the first thing we are, as a sport, trying to focus on.
“And then, what will happen then is that once you improve or once you get to an extent to have flat-out qualifying, you will automatically have a race with potentially a bit less gaming.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
“The level of gaming in the race you can probably adjust. And there are very different opinions up and down the pitlane on that level. But I think the most important is that we get closer to flat-out qualifying, and that’s what as a sport we try to achieve when we meet.”
But in terms of timeline, forcing changes through midseason can be tricky unless it’s a ‘safety’ matter – as Max Verstappen cheekily pointed out.
“Personally, I think the focus should be on how to sort it properly for ’27,” Mekies added. “Because we are still in time to do enough if we want to address that for ‘27 and have enough flat-out qualifying in ‘27. And then I’m sure there is a number of small things that we can do in ’26.”
Still, the new F1 cars’ remarkable acceleration means lap times are not far off what they used to be. At Suzuka, Kimi Antonelli set pole position in 1m28.778s, 1.8s slower than Max Verstappen last year but quicker than the pole times in 2022 and 2023 – or anytime until 2016.
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