Red Bull warn of Qatar 'reset' after Las Vegas triumph

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has warned the F1 grid will be in for a “reset” when the cars take to the track in Qatar this weekend.

A successful event in Las Vegas saw Max Verstappen win his sixth race of the season, classifying ahead of the two Mercedes entries.

Verstappen's victory, coupled with a shock double disqualification for the McLaren duo, has handed Dutchman a major boost in the title fight as he now sits just 24 points down on the championship lead.

But with a sprint weekend coming up in Qatar and conditions set to be contrasting to Las Vegas, Mekies has signalled it may not fall into Red Bull's hands.

“We do what we always say we are doing,” he told media including RacingNews365. “We take it race by race. A win is a win.

“It's easy to forget how difficult it is to win. You need to get everything right, and that's how we look at it.

“You can’t imagine a more different situation in Qatar compared to Las Vegas. Everything is the opposite. We will reset and try to nail the weekend.”

Verstappen's win in Las Vegas was his sixth of the season and his fourth in the last seven races.

Mekies believes the 28-year-old is performing amongst the highest level ever seen in F1.

“In terms of driving and what he does, I think he's as good or better than everything we have seen,” Mekies said.

“There are many, many examples this year. We know we have suffered in the first part of the season.

“The guys have been doing an amazing job in managing to turn around the car, and now that he's able to fight again for the win, he does masterclass after masterclass.”