Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Laurent Mekies has acknowledged that the RB22 could face another difficult challenge at the Belgian Grand Prix, admitting that Spa-Francorchamps shares many of the characteristics that exposed the team’s weaknesses at Silverstone.
The team’s current situation
Red Bull has struggled to find consistent performance from the RB22 throughout the season. The team’s strongest results have largely been limited to Max Verstappen’s podium finishes in Montreal and Spielberg.
Although the FIA has identified Red Bull’s internal combustion engine as the benchmark within the additional power unit development programme, the power unit has continued to show weaknesses in energy management. At the same time, the chassis has been unable to consistently match the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari, particularly at high-speed circuits.
Mekies summed up the current situation by saying:
“It’s a good reflection of just how complex the situation is with these cars. In Austria we were fighting for victory, but only a few days later at Silverstone we ran into significant limitations that prevented us from extracting the maximum performance from the package we had.”
“Yes, we believe the issue is amplified at a circuit like Silverstone. With energy starvation, we seem to struggle more. On tracks where energy limitations are particularly severe, we appear to suffer more than our rivals, and in that respect I’m afraid the Belgian Grand Prix probably falls into that category.”
A determined response
Despite the difficult outlook, Mekies delivered a message of determination and confidence in Red Bull’s ability to respond. The Frenchman stressed that the team’s current problems would not lead to resignation but instead encourage everyone to work even harder to find solutions.
He explained:
“That doesn’t mean we’re giving up and moving on. It means we need to gain a better understanding of these issues in order to improve. We need to improve in every area, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do every single day.”
Mekies hopes to use the Spa weekend to make at least a small step forward on circuits that place heavy demands on energy management, while expressing confidence in Red Bull’s ability to learn quickly.
“We’re still in the first year with our own power unit, and we’re facing this type of energy-starving circuit. There may be hardware limitations, but I also know that this team is exceptional at learning quickly, so I hope we can be in slightly better shape at Spa-Francorchamps.”
He concluded by acknowledging the similarities between Spa and Silverstone, while looking ahead with greater optimism to the following round in Hungary.
“Then I hope Budapest will present a very different picture.”
Those comments underline Red Bull’s determination to continue working relentlessly to overcome the technical challenges that have emerged throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season.
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