Red Bull denies 2025 push affects 2026 as Helmut Marko recalls Toto Wolff worries from 2021. Red Bull has pushed technical upgrades on the 2025 RB21 to maximize Max Verstappen’s performance.

The Austrian team executive denies that continuing to push on the 2025 car implies sacrifices for next season and recalls what happened before the last technical revolution.

Red Bull updates
Even in Mexico City, with five races remaining in the season, Red Bull tried to leave nothing to chance by bringing technical upgrades to the RB21: the best way, while all other rivals are already focused on the 2026 season, to give Max Verstappen the sharpest tools possible to compete against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. On track, things didn’t go entirely as expected, with Norris dominating and Red Bull struggling, though the team gathered useful data and insights for upcoming races. But could continuing to develop a car at the end of its regulatory cycle become a disadvantage for the next season?

Is there a sacrifice for 2026?
Rivals clearly think so, arguing that with the uncertainties surrounding the new Red Bull-Ford power unit, the Milton Keynes squad might have legitimately chosen to push hard in this final part of the championship, knowing the challenges they could face with next-generation cars. McLaren boss Andrea Stella also commented during the Mexico City weekend, explaining how “perhaps Red Bull are happier to sacrifice something in 2026 because they might encounter some other type of problem, so they are focusing more on 2025.”

Helmut Marko speaks
A narrative that makes Helmut Marko smile, as he told Motorsport.com colleagues: “It’s the same story I heard back in 2021. Toto Wolff was very worried that we wouldn’t be competitive in 2022… Instead, it’s part of our work philosophy that whenever there is a regulation change, we work as hard as possible to stay competitive. It was the same for the last three regulation changes, and it’s okay for us. It’s clear that our rivals don’t have anything more important to worry about. Certainly, we know what we’re doing. You need a clear plan and very prepared people, and we have them. So I don’t think we’ll have any handicap for 2026.”

Helmut Marko then downplayed the impact of the changes introduced at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez: “The update was primarily aimed at improving cooling efficiency due to the thinner air in Mexico. Yes, there are differences in the floor compared to Monza, but it’s all connected and part of the same Red Bull package with some adjustments regarding cooling.” – the Red Bull advisor pointed out.