The principal remained optimistic about the trajectory of the vehicle's development heading into future rounds of the championship.
>>> Lieke Nooijen Wins Dutch National Road Race Championship in Nijmegen
"We know we need more, because we know competition will also continue to bring updates, but certainly, it's very impressive that we are now within the last tenths needed to be on top of the podium," Mekies noted.
During the race, Verstappen closed within 1.3 seconds of Russell with roughly 20 laps remaining, but Red Bull chose to extend his stint by six laps instead of executing an aggressive pit strategy.
When questioned if an earlier pit stop could have secured the win, Mekies conceded the option required evaluation, despite the risk that Mercedes might have used Antonelli to block the advancement.
"It is something we will review, of course," Mekies replied.
Mekies concluded by assessing the performance of the top drivers on the track and noting that starting further back hindered their final result.
"It's probably fair to say that Kimi was probably the fastest guy out there, and perhaps Max was, in fairness, a tiny bit faster than George, and just behind Kimi," Mekies said.
The team leader viewed the competitive weekend as a positive step forward for the entire organization despite the missed top spot.
>>> Huub Artz Collides with Jury Car at Dutch National Road Championship
"But starting positions do matter, and we paid a little bit [the price of] having started a little bit further away from the top spot, but it's a move in the right direction for the whole team," Mekies said.
