Barcelona exposed Red Bull’s weaknesses, Austria brings new developments
Red Bull finished fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix, a result that can hardly satisfy Max Verstappen. The disappointment stems not only from the points scored but also from the sizeable gap to race winner Lewis Hamilton, who crossed the finish line around 40 seconds ahead.
As has been widely discussed, the RB22’s main issues appear to be related to the chassis. Team principal Laurent Mekies has attempted to explain some of those shortcomings by pointing to the team’s intense focus on the 2025 title battle, which inevitably affected preparation for the new regulations. However, that alone cannot fully explain Red Bull’s difficult start to the current era, especially considering the team faced a similar situation in 2022 yet adapted much more successfully to that technical transition.
In an effort to close the gap to the front, Red Bull is preparing a significant upgrade package for Spielberg, the team’s home race. Mekies hopes the new developments will bring the RB22 closer to the leading teams and reduce a deficit that he currently estimates at around half a second per lap.
Laurent Mekies explains Red Bull’s plan
“In Austria we will bring an upgrade package. We hope that we will be able to reduce the gap even further,” Mekies said in comments reported by AUTOHebdo.
“We started the season with a gap of 1.2 seconds to pole position, and in Monaco we were just four hundredths behind on a circuit where the power unit does not play a major role.”
“We knew we would struggle in Barcelona because we have not completely solved our problems in medium- and high-speed corners, but we are confident that the new package will help us. The entire team is working hard to bring further improvements and reduce that deficit.”
Laurent Mekies also highlighted the positive work carried out by Red Bull Powertrains as the team adapted to the new generation of power units: “If we take a broader view, the challenge of the new engine has been enormous. We understood quite quickly that the people at Powertrains had done an incredible job and that we would be strong in that area. Australia, China and Japan confirmed that the engine is competitive, even if there is still a gap to Mercedes.”
He then explained that the chassis deficit was largely a consequence of the resources devoted to the previous championship campaign: “As far as the chassis is concerned, there is a deficit caused by the effort we put into the 2025 season until very late in the year. In a way, it is similar to McLaren, which found itself behind schedule for the same reason.”
“On top of those expected issues, we also encountered some specific problems that were resolved in Miami with an upgrade package that put us back on the right path.”
Laurent Mekies admitted that catching Mercedes remains a major challenge given the German team’s current level of performance.
“It is difficult to say whether we will close the gap to Mercedes, considering their current dominance. In Barcelona we faced reality. The race provided an accurate picture of our potential with the current car on this type of circuit. We were able to compete with the other top teams, but we did not have the pace required to fight for victory.”
“That is why we still need to find between four and five tenths of a second.”
The Austrian Grand Prix will therefore represent an important test for Red Bull. The new package is expected to provide a clearer indication of whether the team can genuinely challenge Mercedes and Ferrari in the second half of the season or whether a more substantial recovery effort will be required to return to the front of the Formula 1 field.
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