Laurent Mekies has identified excessive sensitivity as one of the main weaknesses preventing Red Bull from extracting the full potential of the RB22 in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The team principal believes outright speed is not necessarily the fundamental problem; instead, small changes in conditions can upset the car’s balance, damage driver confidence and produce significant fluctuations in performance.
Red Bull has endured an unusual campaign. Despite being identified by the FIA as one of Formula 1’s strongest teams, it remains the only leading team without a Grand Prix victory in 2026. Max Verstappen has repeatedly come close, but the RB22 has continued to display characteristics that make its performance difficult to reproduce consistently.
Laurent Mekies explains Red Bull’s RB22 balance problem
Max Verstappen finished second behind George Russell in Austria and again came close at the Hungaroring, where he crossed the line more than 15 seconds behind Lando Norris. The Dutchman spoke about the car “degrading” during the Hungary weekend, a description that prompted further discussion about the RB22’s behaviour.
Laurent Mekies offered a more technical interpretation of the problem.
“At first glance, I’m not entirely convinced that it is linked to the car package or anything else. I think we have struggled to give the drivers a car with which they can achieve a good balance.”
The Red Bull team principal also praised Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar for frequently compensating for the limitations of the RB22 and extracting results even when the car has not provided the ideal feeling.
“Nonetheless, because it’s Max and because it’s Isack [Hadjar], they have very often managed to extract the performance anyway.”
Isack Hadjar’s ability to contribute alongside Max Verstappen has become an important positive for the team, with his Red Bull progress during the first half of 2026 adding another dimension to the development process.
According to Laurent Mekies, the difference becomes clear on circuits where Red Bull manages to put the RB22 into the correct operating window.
“On the tracks where we have managed to do that, we have seen an improvement in performance. It’s about being consistent in delivering that performance, and that has been an issue for us during this part of the season. It’s probably where some of the potential improvement lies for the second half.”
The RB22 is too sensitive to small changes
The RB22 therefore appears to suffer less from a fundamental lack of speed than from an inability to deliver that performance consistently. In Formula 1, a car that suddenly changes behaviour can cost far more than a few tenths of a second.
Laurent Mekies highlighted a second and closely related problem: the Red Bull is extremely sensitive to comparatively minor factors.
“I think our car has been very sensitive to a number of small factors since race one, and we have suffered a lot from that in the first part of the season as well.”
The problem can be triggered by circumstances that might appear insignificant from the outside but have a considerable impact on a modern Formula 1 car.
“It’s enough that you pick up a little bit of damage, whether that’s on the gravel or the kerbs, or you get a different wind direction, and everything becomes a little bit on the edge in terms of performance.”
That sensitivity does not only affect the stopwatch. Laurent Mekies believes it can also make it more difficult for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar to trust the car when attacking at the limit.
“Not only do you probably pay a price in terms of lap time, but it’s also fair to say that it takes away the driver’s confidence.”
RB22 sensitivity is also hurting driver confidence
A car whose balance can be altered by a change in wind direction, minor floor damage or aggressive kerb use makes it difficult for a driver to build momentum across a weekend. That uncertainty can discourage the confidence required to attack corners consistently at the limit.
The difficulties were particularly visible during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, when frustration inside the Red Bull camp also emerged over team radio, including Max Verstappen’s unaired comments about the Racing Bulls drivers.
For Laurent Mekies, reducing the RB22’s sensitivity represents one of Red Bull’s clearest opportunities for improvement.
“So it’s not a new topic, but it’s an area where we probably still have some potential to extract.”
The conclusion is therefore less pessimistic than Red Bull’s winless first half might suggest. Laurent Mekies does not believe the team is necessarily far away in terms of outright potential. Instead, the RB22 remains too vulnerable to small changes that can push it outside its optimal performance window.
Finding a more stable balance and reducing that sensitivity would give Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar greater confidence while allowing Red Bull to reproduce its best performance more consistently. That will be one of the team’s central challenges when Formula 1 resumes after the summer break at Max Verstappen’s home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
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