Red Bull team chief Laurent Mekies, who took over following the dismissal of Christian Horner in July, said on Friday that he felt the team were ready to power Max Verstappen to a sensational fifth Formula One drivers' title.

Mekies made clear that he was not forecasting that the four-time champion Dutch driver would win the title, but that he and the team had the performance to win any of the six remaining races.

Verstappen, in third place, trails series leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren by 63 points with Lando Norris, also of McLaren, second 22 points adrift.

It would take a record swing for Verstappen to overhaul the gap.

"I think it is fair to say that we think we have enough potential in the car now to be in the fight on most of the tracks going forward,” Mekies told reporters ahead

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