The constructors’ standings paint a shocking picture: Red Bull sits in sixth place in the 2026 Formula 1 championship with just 16 points—level with Alpine. Mercedes is dominating at the front, followed by Ferrari, while Max Verstappen is consistently fighting in the midfield. The gap to McLaren already stands at 30 points, creating a significant divide from the top positions. The Milton Keynes-based team now faces a crucial and extremely complex decision.
Red Bull RB22: a car without identity
The atmosphere inside the garage after the Japanese Grand Prix was described as tense and far from calm by young driver Isack Hadjar. Verstappen’s teammate admitted that the mood within the team is not positive, confirming a deep internal identity crisis. Team principal Laurent Mekies has publicly expressed his regret over the situation.
He did so by apologizing for the difficulties faced by the drivers in this early phase of the season. The French manager is struggling to manage the transition from a dominant, title-winning team to one now forced to defend itself against attacks from midfield competitors. From a technical standpoint, the RB22 has proven to be an extremely complex car—at times even dangerous to drive in high-speed sections.
While the new in-house engine developed in collaboration with Ford appears to provide reasonably solid guarantees, it is the aerodynamic package and the chassis that represent the real weak points of the current project. Hadjar described a race of pure suffering at Suzuka, marked by a battery that depleted far too quickly, leaving the car exposed and vulnerable on track.
Verstappen’s growing frustration
Max Verstappen has not held back in criticizing the technological direction of Formula 1 under the 2026 regulations. The pinnacle of motorsport has undergone a profound transformation and, apart from Mercedes, it has not fully satisfied anyone. Only Lewis Hamilton seems to enjoy the internal battles with Charles Leclerc, finding entertainment in on-track action that, however, can feel somewhat artificial.
The Dutch driver described the current style of racing as the exact opposite of pure driving. The four-time world champion is clearly frustrated not only by the lack of a competitive car, but also by regulations that appear to reward software management more than raw driving talent. As a result, he is seriously considering retirement at the end of the season, despite being under contract with Red Bull until 2028.
A high-level meeting reportedly took place during the return flight from Japan, involving Verstappen, Mekies and Gianpiero Lambiase, further fueling speculation about the team’s future. Discussions are believed to have covered not only immediate technical issues, but also dramatic contractual scenarios, including the possibility of managing Verstappen’s exit in 2027 and a potential return in 2028.
Red Bull in crisis: Racing Bulls just two points behind
The current crisis appears to be the inevitable consequence of a significant exodus of key figures that has hit Red Bull over the past twelve months. The departures of Adrian Newey, Christian Horner, Jonathan Wheatley and Helmut Marko have deprived the team of the technical and political leadership required to navigate the new regulations. Without its aerodynamic mastermind and long-standing leadership core, the structure is clearly struggling.
The engineers who remained in Milton Keynes seem to have lost their most effective design direction. The internal split that occurred before the introduction of the 2026 regulations has created a power vacuum that rival teams have been quick to exploit. To make matters worse, the comparison with Racing Bulls is particularly painful, with the junior team trailing by just two points.
Seeing the junior outfit competing on equal terms is a humiliation that highlights the limitations of the chassis developed for Verstappen and Hadjar. While Mercedes has in the past faced pressure from McLaren, being challenged by its own sister team represents an unprecedented warning sign. This scenario calls into question the entire internal hierarchy and the effectiveness of the extreme design choices made on the RB22.
A critical dilemma for Red Bull
The dilemma now facing Mekies and his engineers revolves around a key decision: pursue a radical redesign of the current car or effectively sacrifice the 2026 season. Both paths are extremely complex. Developing a “B-spec” version of the RB22 would require significant resources within the constraints of the budget cap, with no guarantee of closing the gap to the top three teams.
However, such a move could make sense in an effort to retain Verstappen within the team—similar, in some respects, to what happened last year, albeit under different circumstances. Demonstrating to Max that the team is capable of reacting and returning to the front could be crucial, even if the current “battery-driven Formula 1” concept clearly does not appeal to the Dutch driver.
Others suggest focusing all efforts on the 2027 car, potentially drawing inspiration from the more balanced solutions seen on Racing Bulls. Red Bull now finds itself at a decisive crossroads, with the risk of losing Verstappen remaining extremely high in either scenario. It is arguably the most delicate moment in the history of the Austrian team—one that could lead to a downward spiral that would be difficult to reverse.
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