Two cars on the podium, renewed competitiveness and further evidence that Red Bull’s recent progress is genuine. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was an overwhelmingly positive weekend for the team, although one major regret remains: the tiny margin that separated Max Verstappen from George Russell after 51 laps around Baku.
That is the defining image of Red Bull’s weekend. On one side is the satisfaction of a result that confirms the improvement seen over recent races; on the other is the knowledge that the team narrowly missed what was, on paper, probably its best remaining opportunity to claim a first victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Max Verstappen falls just short of George Russell in Baku
Laurent Mekies acknowledged that the characteristics of the Baku City Circuit were particularly well suited to the RB22.
“It is probably the most favourable circuit for us in terms of the characteristics of the car,” the Red Bull team principal admitted.
The biggest obstacle to Max Verstappen came during Friday qualifying. A power-unit problem forced the four-time world champion to start only eighth, preventing him from approaching the race without first having to recover several positions.
Verstappen nevertheless played down the significance of the qualifying setback. In his view, even if he had started second, overtaking George Russell’s Mercedes would still have been extremely difficult.
His recovery drive was impressive regardless. An opening stint on the medium tyres proved difficult at times, but the Safety Car gave Verstappen the opportunity to switch to softs, which immediately proved much more competitive.
From that point onwards, the chase of George Russell began in earnest. During the closing laps, the gap remained consistently around one second, before the two crossed the finish line separated by only a fraction of a second.
“We had our opportunity,” Laurent Mekies stressed, “and we missed it by a tenth after 53 laps.”
The difference was nevertheless dramatically smaller than the margin that had separated Verstappen and Russell in qualifying, providing further evidence of Red Bull’s improved race performance.
Red Bull upgrades deliver encouraging signs at Baku
The performance also confirmed progress with the RB22 itself. Red Bull’s Baku upgrades worked as intended and, according to Verstappen, helped make the car’s balance more consistent across different phases of the corner.
Some structural limitations remain, however, and they are unlikely to be completely resolved before 2027. That means Red Bull’s immediate task is still centred on extracting more from the existing package rather than completely eliminating every weakness.
Mekies also pointed out that the team had already been gradually reducing its deficit before the new components arrived, thanks to optimisation work on both the chassis and power-unit sides.
The improvement is significant given the strength Mercedes has demonstrated throughout 2026. The scale of that advantage has already been evident in the performance of the Mercedes W17, making Red Bull’s ability to match George Russell so closely in Baku an encouraging sign.
Isack Hadjar completes Red Bull double podium on F1 return
The other major story of Red Bull’s weekend was Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman returned after six weeks and three Grands Prix on the sidelines because of the hand problem he suffered during the summer break.
Making his comeback at Baku, one of Formula 1’s least forgiving street circuits, made his third-place finish even more significant.
Isack Hadjar approached the weekend methodically, immediately rediscovering good sensations behind the wheel and, most importantly, experiencing no pain. His fourth place in qualifying had already been an important sign, but his race pace impressed Laurent Mekies even more.
“On both the mediums and the softs, he showed us something we had never seen from him before,” Mekies said.
It completed an impressive comeback for a driver returning directly to one of the fastest and most unforgiving street circuits on the calendar.
Hadjar shows pace but also restraint behind Verstappen
There were still some potentially delicate moments during the Grand Prix. In the first part of the race, Isack Hadjar was running on soft tyres and had stronger pace than Verstappen, who had started on the mediums.
The situation could easily have become awkward for Red Bull, but both the team and its drivers managed it without creating unnecessary tension.
Hadjar did not demand over the radio to be allowed past his team-mate. Instead, he accepted the strategy communicated from the pit wall, preserved his tyres and kept Red Bull’s tactical options open.
That detail was particularly important to Mekies.
“It shows how intelligently he knows how to race, how much mental capacity he is able to retain while he is in the car and how much emotional control he has.”
Combined with the outright speed Hadjar showed throughout the weekend, that maturity completed a return that could hardly have gone better.
Red Bull leaves Baku with hope for more opportunities
Red Bull leaves Azerbaijan with considerably more confidence than it had when the weekend began. The remaining question is how much of the performance seen in Baku can be transferred to the circuits that follow.
Verstappen has already pointed out that Baku has highly specific characteristics, while Mercedes is expected to introduce an important upgrade at Sepang. That will provide another test of whether Red Bull has genuinely moved closer to the championship-leading benchmark or simply found an unusually favourable circuit for the RB22.
Mercedes has continued to develop the W17 through the season, even after Toto Wolff acknowledged that the team still had untapped performance in its 2026 car.
Mekies, however, prefers to focus on the encouraging side of Red Bull’s Baku performance.
“The performance we showed today gives us a reasonable amount of hope that we will have another couple of opportunities before the end of the year.”
Baku therefore leaves Red Bull with both encouragement and frustration. Verstappen came agonisingly close to converting the team’s strongest weekend of the season into its first victory, while Hadjar delivered an exceptional podium immediately on his return. Most importantly, the RB22’s latest step forward appears to be real. The next circuits will reveal how widely that progress can be applied.
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