Everything went according to expectations: the forced F1 break gave teams the opportunity to organize several testing sessions and filming days. As a result, yesterday, even though attention was mainly focused on Ferrari—locked away and working behind closed doors in Monza, where very little could actually be seen—other teams also took to the track.
Haas carried out a TPC test, while Red bull also completed its 200 km filming day, running at Silverstone. For the Milton Keynes-based team, only Max Verstappen was on track, completing laps in the updated RB22 that is expected to appear in Miami. It was an initial shakedown, similar to Ferrari’s approach, designed to evaluate the major development package intended to correct an RB22 that has underperformed in the opening three rounds of the championship.
Red bull at Silverstone yesterday with only Max Verstappen running
With the cancellation of Bahrain and Jeddah, the Miami–Canada double header will be the stage for major upgrades across all teams. Not only Ferrari with its “one and a half package” described by Fred Vasseur after Suzuka: yesterday Andrea Stella also confirmed during a media session in Woking that McLaren will change significantly over these two races. “You will see a completely new MCL40 in Miami”.
Within Red bull, the team led by Laurent Mekies is currently chasing a significant performance gap. Contrary to appearances, the power unit developed in Milton Keynes is not the weak point. In fact, according to the latest indications, the Anglo-Austrian team’s engine is reportedly very close to the Mercedes benchmark, to the point of not falling within ADUO eligibility parameters.
However, while waiting for official confirmation, the technical group led by Pierre Waché—who has also seen further internal changes in recent weeks—has approved the major upgrade package that will make its official debut in Miami, already used during the Silverstone filming day.
Both Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen have repeatedly complained during the first three races about a lack of grip, low downforce, and a car that is very difficult to drive. At Red bull, Waché’s department is working to resolve all these issues. The RB22 seen yesterday showed noticeably different shapes and more advanced solutions compared to the car that started the season.
Waché changes more than half the car: RB22 updates its sidepods again
The RB22 had already received a couple of updates at Suzuka, mainly aimed at changing the bodywork shape with a downward-flowing sidepod concept compared to the initial configuration. During the Japanese weekend, these changes were used only by Max Verstappen, before being tested by Hadjar during the Pirelli test on the following Monday. Despite the recent Suzuka package, the Silverstone filming day revealed significantly more extensive updates affecting multiple areas of the RB22.
First of all, the front wing has been modified, including the area around the endplates.
The most visible changes are clearly around the engine cover and especially the sidepods, which have undergone another substantial redesign. Visually, a more sculpted “cut-out” channel appears to have returned, a concept more typical of cars from the previous regulation era. The idea revisited by Pierre Waché shows strong “family feeling” with sidepod philosophies seen, for example, on Alpine cars.
From images circulated online during the filming day, Red bull also appears to be running what we have referred to as ‘Halette’ elements on the central column of the Halo.
Finally, the rear wing is also visibly new, particularly in its design around the actuator area. Red bull is among the teams studying Ferrari’s “Flick Tail Mode” system, and on the RB22 there is ongoing detailed work on the exhaust area and rear section in general to improve overall efficiency.
An important but less visible update also concerns weight. Red bull started the season slightly overweight—although not by the 20+ kilograms that were speculated—and the package arriving in Florida will include lightweight components as part of the upgrade set.
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