Red Bull F1 boss admits 'painful and difficult' Max Verstappen decision

According to Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, asking Max Verstappen to hand back the position to Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix was the only right call.

Mekies praised the Dutch driver’s performance during Sunday's race at the Madring, as he claimed a terrific second-place finish behind Kimi Antonelli, and ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris.

In the opening corner of the race, Verstappen had to manoeuvre quickly and cut the chicane to avoid a collision with Ferrari star Hamilton.

Following this, the team [via race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase] requested that he return the position, with Kimi Antonelli also making a pass.

Verstappen would later capitalise on a Virtual Safety Car period to hold off Norris and secure second place.

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Red Bull didn’t want to wait for FIA stewards

Speaking on F1TV, Mekies recalled the swift decision-making process as he admitted: “It's always going to be a painful and a difficult decision.

"Fortunately, the guys on the pit wall had a very good look at it, and did the analysis fast”.

Mekies, who took over from Christian Horner a year ago, explained that the team was simply worried about receiving a penalty from the FIA.

“Of course, we were not expecting a thank you email from Max in the car," Mekies jokingly quipped.

"We thought it would be better to take the pain at that moment and fight back after.

"That's something Max has done exceptionally well, as always, rather than wait and risk a bigger penalty, that could have been more costly later on."

Mekies also noted that a time penalty was not an option for Verstappen.

“Of course if you can imagine race scenarios with the safety car or other circumstances it can cost you a lot more than one position or two.

"So luckily, Max gave away the positions before he was retired and and and and ultimately continue to fight the race from that point.

"Of course it is frustrating, but in fairness, I think P2 was the absolute best we could have achieved today.”

READ MORE: Norris takes down journalist in tense exchange: 'Did you even watch the race?'

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