Max Verstappen highlights Red Bull weakness as Laurent Mekies vows solution. Red Bull searching for answers as Verstappen pinpoints key performance weakness.

Red Bull’s lingering weakness remains under the spotlight

One of Red Bull’s most persistent limitations remains clearly visible: the car continues to struggle whenever it is forced to attack aggressive kerbs. Max Verstappen has acknowledged the issue without hesitation, explaining that the real problem is not so much the bumps in the track surface themselves, but rather the way the car reacts when riding over kerbs.

“We’re not doing too badly over bumps, but when we go over kerbs the car becomes difficult. It’s related to the philosophy of the car and the way we are trying to extract performance. We are trying to make the two things coexist, but we still haven’t found the right compromise,” the Dutch driver reportedly explained.

The challenge was particularly evident during qualifying in Montreal, where the final chicane exposed one of the RB22’s weaknesses. Verstappen joked about the situation, but his message was unmistakable.

“As soon as I hit that kerb, I immediately knew it was going to be tough. My back wasn’t going to thank me for it.”

Mekies remains confident

Despite the ongoing difficulties, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies is not prepared to give up on finding a solution. The Frenchman remains convinced that the issue can be addressed during the 2026 Formula 1 season.

“I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to solve it before the end of this season,” he said.

However, fixing the problem is only part of the challenge. The real objective is to improve the car’s behaviour over kerbs without sacrificing the performance characteristics that make it competitive elsewhere: “You can fix a weakness by making the overall performance worse, but that’s not what we want. We need to find a solution that removes the problem while making the car stronger overall,” Laurent Mekies clarified.

Looking for a cure, not a quick fix

Red Bull is therefore searching for a genuine solution rather than a temporary patch. In modern Formula 1, where the margins between success and failure are measured in thousandths of a second, even something as seemingly simple as kerb behaviour can become a decisive factor.

As teams continue to push the limits of performance, compromises become increasingly difficult to manage. The RB22’s sensitivity over kerbs may not be the most visible issue on the grid, but it remains one of the key areas Red Bull must address if it wants to maximise its potential throughout the remainder of the campaign.

For Verstappen and Red Bull, the goal is clear: eliminate the weakness without undermining the strengths that have made the team one of Formula 1’s benchmark competitors. Whether that breakthrough arrives in the coming months could play a significant role in shaping the rest of the season.