Red Bull reveal plan to impose team orders on Max Verstappen

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed Max Verstappen would have been instructed to hand second place back to Isack Hadjar during the São Paulo Grand Prix had the pair remained close enough on track.

Hadjar, who started fifth at Interlagos, was initially asked to let Verstappen through on lap 38, as the Dutchman charged through the field from P21 on the grid following a power unit penalty.

The decision was taken to allow Verstappen to chase race leader Lando Norris, who had established a lead of more than nine seconds.

However, Hadjar remained within a second of his team-mate and subsequently questioned whether the positions would be reversed if Verstappen could not catch the McLaren driver.

Mekies has now confirmed that Red Bull intended to facilitate another switch, but the changing conditions and differing strategies ultimately made that impractical.

"I think we would have done it," Mekies told media, including RacingNews365. "If the cars had stayed close together, we would have done it because Isack had a very strong pace and he stayed with Max, as you have seen, after the swap.

"But then, as the race panned out and the rain came again, the cars were very, very distant, and it wouldn't have made sense.

"Plus, with increased rain intensity at the end, it would not have made any sense."

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A tricky subject at Red Bull

The willingness to potentially instruct Verstappen to surrender a position was notable, given Red Bull's tendency to impose team orders in favour of the four-time F1 drivers' champion rather than his team-mate.

The Dutchman caused a stir at Interlagos in 2022, when he refused to let Sergio Perez pass, despite having already wrapped up the title with his team-mate fighting to finish second in the standings.

More recently, Hadjar ruffled feathers at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, initially resisting an instruction to allow Verstappen through because he feared losing race time.

The Frenchman eventually acquiesced when his race engineer made clear he was being told to move aside, rather than asked.

In Brazil, however, Hadjar complied with the initial instruction without resistance and remained competitive before the two Red Bulls became separated as the race unfolded.

Verstappen ultimately finished second behind Norris, with Hadjar completing the podium in third, securing a double podium for Red Bull in the rain-affected 71-lap contest.

Reflecting on the performance, Mekies added: "But I have to say, Max and Isack worked very, very strongly together to give us the result."

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