Red Bull has moved to the front of Formula 1’s competitive order after finding another level of performance with the upgrade package introduced in Azerbaijan. Improved balance and predictability have helped unlock more of Max Verstappen’s potential, and after consecutive victories the RB22 has become the car to beat heading towards the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
While Mercedes and McLaren have stumbled after introducing major updates of their own, Red Bull has taken full advantage of the uncertainty at the front. Verstappen has secured pole position and victory at the last two Grands Prix, added maximum points from the Singapore Sprint and had already finished on the podium in Baku. After years of bad luck and performance struggles at Marina Bay, the four-time world champion has finally put his name on the list of Singapore winners.
Red Bull upgrade transforms RB22 into a more complete car
Red Bull appears to have made the biggest development step among the leading teams with the package that debuted in Azerbaijan. By improving the RB22’s balance and making its behaviour more predictable, the team has also allowed Max Verstappen to extract more from the car.
His defence against Charles Leclerc at the start in Singapore was outstanding after the Ferrari driver’s strong launch, and from that point onwards the RB22 had no real rival.
The improvement can also be seen on the other side of the garage with Isack Hadjar, despite an unfortunate Safety Car in Malaysia and technical problems that compromised his Saturday in Singapore.
In a month when Mercedes and McLaren have both encountered difficulties after introducing substantial upgrade packages, Red Bull has inserted itself into the gap at the front and become the benchmark over the latest rounds.
Singapore success confirms Red Bull street-circuit strength
Red Bull’s Singapore victory was not entirely unexpected after the RB22 had already dominated at Sepang. In fact, the Malaysian circuit represented a more difficult test for the car because of its greater number of medium- and high-speed corners.
A week earlier, Verstappen and Hadjar had limited their losses through those sections and made the difference through efficiency. In the low-speed corners, only Ferrari performed better, maintaining an advantage it has held in that area since the beginning of the season.
That damage limitation would not have been possible without the upgrades introduced at the start of the Asian triple-header, which have been central to Red Bull’s recent leap forward.
The result is a more complete car that can now be competitive across a much wider variety of circuit layouts.
RB22 has consistently performed well on slow street circuits
Singapore confirmed two trends that have been visible throughout 2026: Red Bull has made substantial progress, and the RB22 has rarely lacked performance on street circuits with a high concentration of technical sections.
Miami, Monaco, Madrid and Baku had all shown signs of a very competitive Red Bull, even if the car had not previously arrived as the clear favourite for victory.
That changed in Singapore. By taking advantage of the difficulties experienced by Mercedes and McLaren, Red Bull secured a second consecutive Grand Prix victory.
The developments introduced in Baku changed the complexion of the team’s season. According to Autoracer data, the new floor, diffuser and sidepods delivered an improvement of more than three tenths of a second.
Verstappen says upgrades removed key Red Bull weaknesses
“In the last few races we probably understood the car a little better, but the upgrades also allowed us to eliminate some of its weaknesses,” Verstappen said a week earlier.
“When they work, you gain speed and you get a better overall balance from the car. So with tyres that are very sensitive to balance, that also allows you to improve the lap time.”
That improved balance has become particularly important because the current tyres respond strongly to changes in car behaviour. A more predictable platform not only improves driver confidence but also helps keep the tyres within a more effective operating window.
Verstappen makes another step as Hadjar remains competitive
A major part of Red Bull’s recent form is inevitably its leading driver. Verstappen has once again demonstrated his value after a first part of the year in which his advantage over his team-mate had been less pronounced.
At Baku, he seriously threatened George Russell’s victory during the closing laps, while across the last two weekends he has left almost nothing available to his rivals.
With the strongest car underneath him, Verstappen has been able to exploit the RB22’s improved balance to make another significant step in performance. Isack Hadjar remains competitive, but the gap between the two Red Bull drivers has grown compared with the summer months.
The championship implications are becoming increasingly significant. Verstappen is now within reach of George Russell’s second place in the standings, which would represent a remarkable achievement in a season that has been far from straightforward. The latest situation can be followed through the Formula 1 driver standings.
Red Bull gains efficiency against Ferrari at Sepang and Singapore
Between Sepang and Singapore, Red Bull also showed a clear improvement in the efficiency of its package.
Combined with progress in medium- and high-speed corners, which remain the RB22’s main weakness, the overall gain has been substantial. On both weekends, much of Red Bull’s advantage over Ferrari could be explained by the difference in straight-line performance between the RB22 and SF-26.
In Malaysia, the gain on the straights was more than half a second, while in Singapore it was closer to two tenths.
Red Bull has effectively replaced Mercedes as the dominant force in power-limited sections. Like the W17 did until only a few races ago, the RB22 can now limit its losses through the corners while gaining significantly on the straights.
Ferrari, meanwhile, has remained particularly strong in low-speed sections. That characteristic has been one of the SF-26’s recurring strengths and will again be relevant when development work continues at Austin. For further technical context, Ferrari technical analysis provides a wider view of the team’s 2026 development direction.
Mercedes begins to unlock updated W17
Mercedes remains the most obvious candidate to challenge Red Bull. During the second half of the Singapore weekend, the updated version of the W17 finally produced its first encouraging signs, and the potential of the package has never really been in doubt.
That is why Mercedes never seriously considered returning Antonelli permanently to the older specification.
The Brackley engineers appear to have found an initial way of working within the narrower operating window created by the new W17 package.
“The team did a great job getting the car into a better range,” championship leader Kimi Antonelli said. “Even though during the session the window was still very, very small. But today we started to see the potential.”
Compared with Sprint Qualifying, telemetry showed less wheelspin on car number 12, although the upgrades also added drag.
Mercedes’ decision for Austin should provide clearer answers after several weeks of data analysis. Fully unlocking the updated W17 could put the Silver Arrows back into the fight for poles and victories after a quieter run of races. The team’s broader development situation has already highlighted how much performance Mercedes believes remains available in the car, as detailed in Toto Wolff’s assessment of the W17 upgrade programme.
Ferrari and McLaren prepare major Austin upgrades
Ferrari and McLaren are also expected to continue developing their cars at Austin.
The SF-26 is set to receive its final major upgrade package of the season, which Autoracer is expected to analyse in greater detail over the coming days.
The main question is whether Ferrari’s engineers can convert the additional theoretical potential into actual lap time, and how easily they can extract that performance.
At Sepang and Singapore, Ferrari effectively occupied the position of second-fastest team, but it still needs more outright speed to challenge Red Bull consistently.
McLaren, meanwhile, is expected to try to bring forward some components from a package originally planned for early November.
The upgrades arriving at Austin will therefore be important not only for ending the current season strongly, but also for giving the leading teams greater certainty over the technical direction they want to pursue into 2027.
Austin will reveal whether anyone can stop Verstappen
The United States Grand Prix will provide the next major test because Circuit of the Americas is one of the most complete layouts on the calendar and should expose strengths and weaknesses across a broad range of corner types.
After two victories on very different circuits, Red Bull has established itself as the current benchmark. Mercedes is beginning to understand its updated W17, while Ferrari and McLaren are preparing further upgrades of their own.
For now, however, the question at the front of Formula 1 is straightforward: after Red Bull’s recent development breakthrough and Verstappen’s return to dominant form, who can become the main challenger over the final two months of the season?
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