F1 | Red Bull’s turning point must come in Austria: why Max Verstappen says the new package is “crucial”
After introducing updates at Suzuka and Miami, Red Bull has arrived at its home race in Austria with one of its biggest upgrade packages of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The latest developments affect the floor, bargeboards, sidepods and rear end of the RB22, while the team has also succeeded in reducing the car’s weight. For Max Verstappen, these changes are far more than routine updates—they are a crucial test that could determine the direction of the rest of Red Bull’s campaign and help the team shake off its unwanted reputation as Formula 1’s fourth-fastest outfit.
Barcelona represented a major milestone for Ferrari, with the Scuderia introducing an extensive package of technical upgrades that ultimately helped Lewis Hamilton secure victory ahead of the Mercedes drivers. In much the same way, Red Bull views its home event at the Red Bull Ring as perhaps the most important weekend of its entire season, with the Austrian Grand Prix expected to provide the first real indication of whether the RB22 can return to fighting consistently at the front.
A comprehensive upgrade package for the RB22
Red Bull has introduced substantial changes across several areas of the car. The sidepods have been extensively redesigned, both in their external shape and in the radiator inlet concept, which now takes inspiration from the solution adopted by Mercedes. This is already the fourth version of the sidepods seen on the RB22 this season, following previous revisions introduced at Suzuka and Miami.
Although the latest package borrows certain ideas from rival teams, Red Bull has remained faithful to its own aerodynamic philosophy rather than abandoning its original concept. The bargeboards and floor have also become considerably more complex, with engineers aiming to optimise airflow management towards the rear of the car and recover the aerodynamic downforce that has continued to be one of the RB22’s biggest weaknesses throughout the season.
The rear of the car has also received significant attention. Engineers have redesigned the FTM assembly, making it more sophisticated while revising its support structure compared to the previous specification. At the same time, Red Bull has achieved a meaningful reduction in weight after starting the season more than ten kilograms above the FIA minimum limit. That excess weight not only hurt outright performance but also limited the team’s ability to use ballast effectively to fine-tune the car’s balance.
Max Verstappen: “This package is crucial”
These improvements explain why the Austrian upgrade package carries so much importance. Speaking ahead of the weekend, Max Verstappen described it as “crucial” for Red Bull’s future, believing it will play a major role in shaping the remainder of the season.
The first step had already been taken in Miami, where Red Bull managed to remove around six kilograms from the car while introducing several aerodynamic updates and solving the steering issue that had affected Verstappen during the opening races. However, the Dutch driver acknowledged that making the final step towards the front becomes increasingly difficult as the performance gaps between teams continue to shrink.
“Those are obviously also the easiest steps to make when you’re a long way behind. The hardest step is always the final one, the one that actually allows you to fight for victories. So we’ll see what we can do to get back into that battle. I’m not sure whether it will happen this weekend, but the team always gives 100% and pushes as hard as possible to make the car faster.”
“We also know that the other teams keep bringing upgrades all the time. So we simply have to keep finding that little bit extra if we want to close the gap. In Barcelona it was quite clear that there was still a deficit, so hopefully this weekend will be a little better.”
“I think this package is crucial for us. As a team, we want to improve from where we started this season to where we finish it. We know where the performance is missing, so we want to improve the car. That’s what everyone wants.”
When asked whether this stage of the season could also influence his own future, Max Verstappen remained cautious.
“We’ll see. It’s difficult to answer that question right now. We don’t like being the fourth-fastest team, so we want to do better. That’s what we’re working on at the moment.”
Closing the gap remains the objective
Following the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, team principal Laurent Mekies explained that Red Bull’s immediate target was at least to halve the roughly four-tenths-per-lap deficit to the leading teams, with the ambitious goal of eventually reducing it to around one tenth. The Austrian upgrade package is therefore not expected to eliminate the gap overnight, but it should provide an important first step towards bringing Red Bull back into genuine contention.
Before Barcelona, the team’s primary concern centred on performance through high-speed corners. On slower circuits such as Monaco and Montreal, Red Bull had remained competitive by relying on softer mechanical setups, but engineers feared the long, fast corners in Spain would expose the RB22’s weaknesses—and that is exactly what happened.
The reality, however, extends beyond performance in high-speed corners alone. According to Max Verstappen, the RB22 continues to suffer from a combination of aerodynamic and balance-related issues.
“It’s a combination of things that we need to fix. We were certainly a little worried about the high-speed sections, but I think it’s really a general balance issue.”
He concluded by outlining the key areas where Red Bull still needs to improve.
“We know the car is heavy, and we simply need more aerodynamic downforce, more grip and better behaviour over the kerbs. Those are all things that can make the difference in improving our car.”
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