Red Bull’s competitiveness will depend on multiple factors. Chief among them is the reliability and performance of the in-house power unit currently under development, but just as important is the team’s ability to address the technical shortcomings that have emerged over the past two seasons.
More accurate tools
Despite ending the year with an impressive comeback, Max Verstappen and Red Bull failed to secure the world title in 2025, largely due to technical shortcomings. Already in 2024, the RB20 showed underlying traits that were initially underestimated. When the team eventually investigated them in more depth, discrepancies emerged between on-track data and simulation results, with the same issues failing to appear in the wind tunnel.
This led Red Bull to question its own development methodologies, as it gradually slipped behind McLaren after nearly three years of technical superiority.
During the 2025 season, Red Bull was forced to adapt its approach, shifting greater emphasis towards track data and driver feedback to compensate for the limits of simulation tools. From the Bahrain pre-season tests onward, the team stood out for the sheer number of experiments conducted on track, both in aerodynamic configurations and mechanical setups.
The Hungarian Grand Prix proved emblematic of this mindset, as Red Bull took significant risks and effectively sacrificed the weekend in order to gather crucial answers. These efforts played a key role in the second-half resurgence of the season under the leadership of Laurent Mekies, whose technical background helped ensure that the right questions were being asked within the engineering group.
To lay solid foundations for the future, Red Bull will need to address the root causes of these difficulties. The new wind tunnel, expected to come online between 2026 and 2027, will represent a major step forward, replacing the more than 70-year-old Bedford facility currently in use. At the same time, the team is fully aware that its simulation and development techniques must also be strengthened.
According to Laurent Mekies, leaving everything unchanged and simply hoping for a different outcome with the 2026 car would have been naive. This is why development work on the RB21 continued throughout the season, in order to understand what had limited the project and to further enrich the team’s internal expertise.
A car built for Max
The consolidation of Red Bull’s working methods will directly influence its ability to deliver Verstappen a car that is not only competitive, but also aligned with his driving preferences. Beyond controlling porpoising, Red Bull’s success between 2022 and early 2024 was built around a concept that avoided an excessively low and stiff setup.
This approach allowed for softer mechanical suspension settings, offering greater flexibility in managing the car’s balance. It suited Verstappen’s preferences perfectly, delivering a responsive front end in slow corners while remaining manageable through high-speed sections.
Problems began to emerge when rival teams learned how to manage the drawbacks of running lower ride heights, forcing Red Bull to follow suit. At the same time, the direction taken in aerodynamic development exacerbated high-speed instability — an issue flagged by Sergio Perez and even Adrian Newey, but underestimated until it began to affect Verstappen himself.
As a result, Red Bull had to rethink its 2025 car, which was significantly different from its predecessors despite outward appearances. The RB21 featured new tools to adjust balance, yet extensive work on setups, aerodynamics and flexible wings was still required throughout the season to find a stable solution.
After the summer break, Max Verstappen finally expressed satisfaction with the improved rear stability, which allowed him to attack corner entry without fearing a loss of control. The late-season version of the RB21 will therefore serve as the reference point moving forward, as Red Bull looks to internalise the lessons needed to once again provide Verstappen with a car that maximises his driving style.
The new power unit
Even before chassis development, Red Bull’s future hinges on its ability to move on from Honda. The Japanese power unit has been a cornerstone of Red Bull’s success over the past five years, standing out for its excellent hybrid management, compact packaging and exceptional reliability.
Honda deserves credit for committing early, even during the height of the pandemic in 2020, accelerating planned updates by a full year and delivering a power unit in 2021 that matched Mercedes in performance. That foundation proved crucial for the dominance that followed in 2022.
Continuing without Honda will be difficult, but the transition to a full manufacturer — developing its own power unit with technical support from Ford — also represents a major opportunity. Red Bull is preparing to take full control of its destiny, becoming directly responsible for its engine’s competitiveness rather than relying on external suppliers, as was once the case with Renault.
Developing both the engine and chassis under one roof should improve overall integration, an aspect that will be more critical than ever under the upcoming regulations. However, Red Bull is effectively starting from scratch, and the road to becoming a benchmark power unit manufacturer is expected to be long and filled with challenges. Exactly how long remains one of the key questions Verstappen is asking himself about his future.
The working group
Honda’s departure was not the only major loss for Milton Keynes. Over the past two years, Red Bull has seen the exit of several key figures from Verstappen’s championship-winning era, including Christian Horner, Jonathan Wheatley and Helmut Marko.
The most impactful departures may ultimately prove to be those within the technical department, particularly Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall, who have since joined Aston Martin and McLaren respectively.
Despite this, the team showed strong cohesion during the second half of 2025. Under the leadership of Laurent Mekies, Red Bull retained Pierre Waché as technical director while continuing to build upon the foundations laid in previous years.
The 2026 season will provide a far clearer picture of Red Bull’s ability to begin a new competitive cycle — a factor that will weigh heavily on the decisions Max Verstappen makes regarding his future.
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