Red Bull has introduced a new bargeboard solution at Sepang as it continues to build on the encouraging RB22 upgrade package that debuted in Baku, with Max Verstappen still chasing his first Grand Prix victory of the 2026 season. The latest aerodynamic change has delivered positive initial feedback despite extreme track temperatures and lower-than-expected grip making the Malaysian circuit difficult to evaluate.
Red Bull has one clear objective between now and the end of the season: win at least one Grand Prix. Since joining the Milton Keynes team, Max Verstappen has never completed a season without taking a victory during his ten years with the Austrian outfit, but he remains without one so far in 2026. The four-time world champion has already made it clear that winning at least once this season remains a personal target.
Red Bull RB22 upgrades bring Verstappen closer after Baku
There were strong signs of progress in Azerbaijan. Max Verstappen finished just 0.196 seconds behind winner George Russell in Baku, with the photo finish demonstrating how much competitiveness Pierre Waché’s RB22 had recovered, even if the race circumstances were also helped by two Safety Car periods.
Max Verstappen’s own competitiveness has never really been in question. Instead, the limitations of the car had prevented him from challenging Mercedes on equal terms. The substantial RB22 development package introduced in Baku delivered an important step forward, and Sepang represents a very different test just one week later.
Red Bull is therefore looking for confirmation that its development programme has finally moved in the right direction. The team led by Laurent Mekies has already received encouraging evidence that the Baku upgrades have translated successfully to Sepang, despite the Malaysian circuit presenting a completely different combination of corners and environmental conditions.
New Red Bull bargeboard makes Sepang debut
To complement the developments that worked in Azerbaijan, Red Bull has brought a new bargeboard to Malaysia with the aim of extracting further performance from the RB22.
The first indications have been positive, although the data was gathered in unusually difficult conditions. The asphalt temperature was extremely high and grip levels were substantially lower than simulations had suggested, complicating attempts to establish the true competitive order.
Even so, Isack Hadjar finished FP2 in second place on soft tyres, only 0.099 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen was fourth, around two and a half tenths away, despite using only the medium compound.
The Dutch driver deliberately concentrated more heavily on race preparation and long-run work because Red Bull feared a rain shower that ultimately never arrived. The decision meant the team gathered valuable information on the medium tyre rather than prioritising an outright soft-tyre lap.
On Saturday morning, Max Verstappen moved up to second place with Isack Hadjar directly behind him. The two RB22s were the only cars, together with championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes, to break the 1:37 barrier.
Red Bull adopts concept similar to Ferrari SF-26 solution
The latest aerodynamic change marks an interesting shift in Red Bull’s approach. The team has moved towards a bargeboard concept more similar to the higher-downforce solution used by Ferrari on the SF-26, an area that can also be followed through Ferrari technical analysis.
At Milton Keynes, engineers have chosen to increase the outwash effect by introducing three vertical elements along the leading edge. More precisely, it could almost be described as two and a half elements rather than three completely independent pieces.
Two vertical flaps rise to the maximum height permitted by the regulations. A third element has then been added to the innermost of those two full-height flaps. This additional vane is attached to the central element through a metal support.
How the new RB22 bargeboard manages front-wheel turbulence
The aerodynamic intention is clear. Red Bull wants to divert the disturbed airflow and losses generated by the front wheel away from the body of the RB22, directing that air outwards through a stronger outwash effect.
Keeping that turbulent flow away from the main bodywork should help improve the overall aerodynamic efficiency of the car and allow the rest of the package to work in cleaner conditions.
The similarities with Ferrari’s approach do not mean the two cars use identical solutions, but Red Bull has moved towards the same broad objective of controlling the flow around the front-wheel wake through a more aggressive high-downforce configuration.
Positive data increases Red Bull optimism at Sepang
The conditions encountered by Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were far from normal, so Red Bull cannot yet treat Friday and Saturday’s early running as definitive proof of its competitive level. Sepang’s exceptionally hot surface and unusually low grip distorted the normal operating window of the cars and tyres.
Even with those limitations, however, engineers were able to collect encouraging data. That has strengthened the growing sense of optimism within Laurent Mekies’ team after the RB22’s recent development progress.
For Red Bull, the most important point is that the major Baku package has continued to work on a very different circuit and the new bargeboard appears to have added another useful step. With Max Verstappen coming within two tenths of victory in Azerbaijan and the RB22 again showing competitive pace in Malaysia, the possibility of preserving his remarkable record of winning at least one Grand Prix in every Red Bull season remains alive.
The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang schedule and circuit guide provides the full timings for the remaining sessions as Red Bull looks to turn its technical progress into the victory it has been pursuing throughout 2026.
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