Oct.26 (GMM) Tom Hart’s first full race weekend as Max Verstappen’s planned next race engineer ended with praise from Red Bull – despite more radio trouble and a few closely watched mistakes.
Hart, who has worked at Red Bull since 2012 and has been part of Verstappen’s engineering group since 2020, is being prepared to replace the McLaren-bound Gianpiero Lambiase full-time – probably from 2027.
He took over Verstappen’s radio in Austin as part of that transition, with Lambiase still supporting from behind the scenes.
“Tom did a super job,” Laurent Mekies told Sky Deutschland.
“It’s always something special when you’re on the pitwall for the first time. In a race as difficult to manage as today’s, it’s not easy.”
“He did a really great job. Of course, we supported him. Gianpiero helped him from behind the scenes.”
Verstappen’s radio problems continued, however, after similar issues at the previous race in Singapore.
“It’s already, I don’t know how many times this year,” the four time world champion said.
“Maybe we should just start communicating in sign language. It’s probably cheaper as well.”
“It’s a disaster. It’s really frustrating, to be honest.”
Verstappen’s two-race winning run also ended with third place, as Kimi Antonelli proved too quick and Charles Leclerc beat him to second.
Mekies admitted Red Bull simply lacked pace.
“Kimi was simply faster today,” said the Red Bull team boss.
“Chasing him was impossible for us.”
He said the RB22 also suffered problems that increased tyre wear and cost performance.
Red Bull continues to struggle with starts too, with both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar under pressure off the line.
“We know we’re not the benchmark when it comes to starts,” Mekies acknowledged.
“We still have a lot of work to do. Other improvements will have to wait until next year.”