Max Verstappen believes Red Bull’s recent progress could make the team a contender at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, although the four-time Formula 1 world champion remains cautious about the RB22’s true potential. The Hungaroring’s technical, high-downforce layout should offer Red Bull an opportunity to test whether the improvements introduced over recent races are enough to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari at the front.
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend officially began with Thursday’s media day, during which the drivers discussed their expectations and initial impressions ahead of the latest round of the season. The cars will soon take to the Hungaroring for the opening free practice sessions, leading into Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Why Red Bull could challenge at the Hungarian GP
The Hungaroring is a relatively short circuit featuring few long straights and a continuous sequence of slow- and medium-speed corners. As a result, outright power unit performance is less influential than at many other venues, while chassis quality and aerodynamic downforce become particularly important.
Those characteristics make Red Bull one of the teams to watch this weekend, especially with Max Verstappen having worked to remain within reach of the two leading forces of the 2026 season, Mercedes and Ferrari. Mercedes also expects its W17 to remain competitive in Budapest, although the team is aware of the threat posed by Ferrari on a slower and more technical circuit.
The Hungarian layout requires a high-downforce configuration and has often been compared with Monaco because of its limited straights and tightly connected corners. However, the Monaco Grand Prix cannot provide a complete indication of likely race performance. Traffic and the extreme difficulty of overtaking often turn the event into a long procession, something that could also become a factor in Hungary on Sunday.
Saturday’s qualifying performance offers a more useful comparison. At Monaco, Max Verstappen came extremely close to taking pole position. Driver performance is particularly influential around the narrow streets of the Principality, and Max Verstappen placed his RB22 on the front row, missing Kimi Antonelli’s pole time by only 0.043 seconds.
That result demonstrated how competitive Red Bull can be through slower, more technical sections. The Hungaroring will now provide another important indication of whether the team can reproduce that level of performance at a permanent circuit.
RB22 updates have strengthened Red Bull’s technical performance
Further evidence of Red Bull’s progress emerged at Spa-Francorchamps. An analysis of the qualifying and race lap times showed that Max Verstappen was frequently the fastest driver through the second sector, the most technical part of the circuit and the section containing the greatest concentration of corners and changes of direction.
The sector times indicated that the RB22 could generate a strong level of grip through the more demanding sections of the Belgian circuit. They also suggested that the updates introduced by Red Bull, particularly since the Austrian Grand Prix, are gradually completing the development of the car and addressing some of its earlier weaknesses.
The RB22 has also remained competitive from a power unit perspective. The engine is the first Formula 1 power unit developed entirely by Red Bull in collaboration with Ford, and its performance was particularly evident at Spielberg, where engine power is an important factor.
During the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen progressively reduced the gap to George Russell and came close to challenging for victory during the closing stages. The performance showed that Red Bull’s power unit can compete effectively even at circuits where straight-line speed and energy deployment have a greater influence on lap time.
Some technical areas nevertheless continue to limit the team. One of those concerns the management of the rear wing. Beginning with the Belgian Grand Prix, Red Bull returned to a more conventional configuration featuring an opening system similar to the previous DRS concept.
The team abandoned the alternative solution that had characterised the RB22 at earlier races after the design created several difficulties during the season. Hungary should therefore provide another opportunity to assess the car with the more traditional rear-wing arrangement in a high-downforce configuration.
Max Verstappen remains cautious over Red Bull’s Hungarian GP pace
Speaking to Formula 1 on Thursday, Max Verstappen expressed confidence in Red Bull’s development while remaining careful not to make firm predictions. The Dutch driver is not yet completely convinced that the RB22 can fight consistently at the front and wants to assess the car’s behaviour throughout the weekend before reaching any conclusions.
Track position will be particularly important at the Hungaroring. Overtaking is difficult, making it essential to qualify near the front. Running in clean air will also help the drivers maximise their cars’ performance and protect their tyres throughout the race stints.
“I’m looking forward to getting out on track and seeing how competitive we are. Right now, I don’t know for certain,” Max Verstappen said at the Hungaroring on Thursday.
“At Spa, we had a good weekend; finishing on the podium there was definitely very nice. Overall, we have seen an upward trend over the last few races, which is positive. The season probably did not begin as we would have wanted, but we are making some very good improvements.”
Max Verstappen was also asked whether Red Bull’s new power unit had performed above expectations while the chassis had fallen short of its targets.
“I think the people in the engine department have been very clear and honest about the work they were doing, so essentially everything they predicted has happened,” Max Verstappen explained.
“In any case, it is fantastic to see how far this project has come compared with where it started a few years ago. To have this kind of performance is genuinely impressive. Perhaps we did not begin as we hoped, but the progress is there. Hopefully we can maintain this momentum.”
Hungaroring will reveal Red Bull’s real progress
Max Verstappen’s comments underline his conservative approach. He remains cautious, leaves some uncertainty over Red Bull’s genuine potential and would prefer the results on track to provide the answer. At the same time, his determination to win again and return the team to the leading positions remains clear.
The Hungaroring will therefore represent a particularly significant test. Its downforce requirements and corner profiles resemble some of the characteristics encountered in Monte Carlo, where Max Verstappen had already demonstrated that he could challenge over a single qualifying lap.
However, the decisive question is whether Red Bull can maintain that competitiveness over a full race distance. Tyre management, track position and the ability to follow other cars without overheating the tyres could all influence the team’s Sunday performance.
Ferrari’s established strength through slow-speed corners at the Hungaroring and Mercedes’ status as a leading team mean Red Bull will face a demanding comparison. The current Formula 1 driver standings also increase the importance of every opportunity to reduce the gap to the championship leaders.
Qualifying should provide the first meaningful indication of the RB22’s potential. The race will then reveal whether Max Verstappen and Red Bull are genuinely capable of fighting Ferrari and Mercedes until the closing laps or whether the team still requires further development before it can return to regular victory contention.
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