Red Bull’s 2026 Formula 1 season has combined an impressive technical achievement with an equally significant disappointment. The team successfully designed and built its first Red Bull-Ford power unit for one of the biggest regulatory changes in Formula 1 history, yet the RB22 has still failed to give Max Verstappen the confidence and dominance he enjoyed during his four consecutive World Championship campaigns.
There were considerable doubts over what Red Bull Powertrains could achieve in its first season as a Formula 1 power-unit manufacturer. Instead, the Milton Keynes operation has produced a competitive package from the beginning. The problem is that a strong internal combustion engine alone is no longer enough under the 2026 regulations, and Red Bull has discovered that extracting performance from the complete car is a far more complicated challenge.
Red Bull-Ford power unit exceeded expectations in 2026
Creating an entirely new department dedicated to designing and developing Formula 1 power units was an enormous undertaking. Choosing 2026, the first year of radically different engine regulations, as the debut season made the challenge even greater.
Nevertheless, Red Bull Powertrains has delivered an impressive first effort. The Red Bull-Ford unit has proved capable of competing with the established manufacturers, and under the ADUO assessment its internal combustion engine was rated as the benchmark. In other words, Red Bull appears to possess the strongest combustion side of the current Formula 1 power units.
Unfortunately for Red Bull, the 2026 championship is not determined solely by combustion-engine horsepower. The interaction between the internal combustion engine and the much more powerful electrical system must be exceptionally efficient, and Mercedes currently appears to have a significant advantage in exploiting the complete hybrid package.
Red Bull and Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes is not purely related to their power units either. The W17 is also extremely strong mechanically and in terms of its chassis. While Ferrari’s SF-26 appears to suffer more heavily from the power-unit side, the RB22 has displayed broader weaknesses involving aerodynamics, chassis behaviour and vehicle dynamics.
Red Bull RB22 upgrades have not solved Verstappen’s confidence problem
Max Verstappen has frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the behaviour of the RB22. One particularly difficult area emerged after Red Bull introduced its rotating rear wing, developing a concept similar to the so-called “Macarena” solution first seen on Ferrari during pre-season testing.
The design offered significant potential under Formula 1’s new active-aerodynamics regulations, but the RB22 became extremely sensitive and its underlying weaknesses appeared to become more pronounced. Max Verstappen struggled with unpredictable behaviour and lost control of the car on several occasions.
That does not mean Red Bull has failed to respond. Quite the opposite. New components have appeared across a remarkably large number of events, with developments introduced in Australia, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco, Barcelona-Catalunya, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium and Hungary.
The most substantial packages arrived in Miami and at Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg, highlighting how aggressively the team has pursued development during the first half of the season. The results, however, have not always matched the amount of work being carried out at Milton Keynes.
At the beginning of the year, Red Bull could occasionally match Ferrari and McLaren over one qualifying lap, but its deficit became much more obvious over a Grand Prix distance. The Miami upgrades represented an important step forward, and Max Verstappen claimed his first podium of the season at the following race in Canada.
Even with those gains, this is clearly not the same Red Bull with which Max Verstappen won four consecutive Drivers’ Championships. The difficulties he experiences behind the wheel remain visible and, despite recent progress, the Dutchman is still unable to trust the RB22 completely.
Belgium and Hungary offer Red Bull its strongest signs of progress
Red Bull may now be experiencing its strongest period of the 2026 season. The beginning of the year was extremely difficult, with an uncompetitive car and constant speculation about Max Verstappen’s future creating an uncomfortable atmosphere around the team. The Dutchman was repeatedly linked with rival teams, with Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff speculation continuing into the summer.
Between May and the end of June, the RB22 improved considerably, but the rotating rear-wing concept created another complication. The solution developed from the same general idea as Ferrari’s “Macarena” wing caused problems for the drivers, particularly Max Verstappen, and Red Bull eventually decided to reconsider the concept.
Recent weekends have been much more encouraging. Red Bull revised its approach to the movable rear flap, and Max Verstappen has appeared increasingly comfortable. The results have followed: third place in Belgium and second in Hungary have given the team consecutive podiums heading into the summer break.
Even Budapest was far from trouble-free, with Max Verstappen complaining about several aspects of the RB22 during the weekend. His recovery to second place therefore represented a valuable result, although frustration remained evident in the unbroadcast Hungary team radio.
Isack Hadjar has become a reliable second Red Bull driver
Isack Hadjar has provided another major positive. The young Frenchman has shown impressive consistency in his first season alongside Max Verstappen and is gradually becoming a reliable source of points for Red Bull.
Across the seven Grands Prix since Canada, Isack Hadjar has recorded four sixth-place finishes, two fifth places and a fourth. That level of consistency is particularly encouraging given how difficult the RB22 remains to drive and the fact that Red Bull has yet to win a Grand Prix this season.
His progress has also helped Red Bull avoid the enormous imbalance between its two cars that caused difficulties in previous seasons. The progress Isack Hadjar has made at Red Bull gives Laurent Mekies a stronger foundation as the team attempts to close the gap to its three leading rivals.
Red Bull’s 2027 potential remains extremely high
Looking beyond the current championship, Red Bull’s potential remains considerable. The progress achieved in only six months with both the RB22 and its first in-house power-unit programme suggests there is plenty of room for further improvement.
That should make Red Bull a serious opponent for Ferrari and McLaren in the coming seasons. Mercedes may retain an advantage heading into 2027, particularly if its strength in hybrid energy management proves difficult for its rivals to replicate, but the competitive picture could change significantly depending on how the second half of 2026 develops.
For Red Bull, the biggest encouragement is that its problems are increasingly well defined. The combustion side of the power unit has exceeded expectations, while the areas that still require work are primarily connected to extracting performance consistently from the complete package.
Red Bull’s 2026 target must be returning Verstappen to victory
In the Constructors’ Championship, finishing higher than fourth will be difficult. Mercedes is a long way ahead, while Ferrari and McLaren currently appear more complete and consistent than the RB22.
Both the SF-26 and MCL40 have already won Grands Prix during the first half of the season and could continue to do so after the summer break. Red Bull, by contrast, is still waiting for its first victory of 2026 despite a recent run of podium finishes.
Max Verstappen also finds himself well outside the lead in the 2026 Formula 1 driver standings, making a fifth consecutive World Championship increasingly difficult to envisage. The more realistic objective for Laurent Mekies and his team is therefore to turn the recent improvement into a Grand Prix victory before the end of the year.
Doing so would have significance beyond the 2026 championship. Red Bull needs to prove that it can once again give Max Verstappen a car he trusts, while establishing solid technical foundations for the 2027 project.
The achievement of building a competitive Formula 1 power unit from scratch should not be underestimated. But the first half of 2026 has also demonstrated how high Red Bull’s standards have become. Podiums and progress are encouraging, yet for the team that dominated Formula 1 with Max Verstappen, the real benchmark remains victory.
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