2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[Wouter]

[upsidedowntoast]

VER had to start on combustion engine only. Mekies said that they messed up the software for both drivers.

IIRC both Mercedes drivers also had this problem; they failed to charge up properly on the formation lap and started with 0% battery. Charles started with around 25% which was also suboptimal for him but better off than the rest of the front row. Most likely it was a software issue for everybody.

[FittingMechanics]

How are drivers having these issues? I am constantly surprised by this energy system. I thought that the drivers will be much more in control of what they want to do with the battery, for example on formation lap it should be super simple to have a button that puts the car in the "recharge only" mode. Is there something forbidding this or are drivers/teams just making software mistakes (Mercedes and Red Bull were low on battery here).

[organic]

How are drivers having these issues? I am constantly surprised by this energy system. I thought that the drivers will be much more in control of what they want to do with the battery, for example on formation lap it should be super simple to have a button that puts the car in the "recharge only" mode. Is there something forbidding this or are drivers/teams just making software mistakes (Mercedes and Red Bull were low on battery here).

They're basically prototyping a new type of drive by wire. Not sure why they have not been able to iron out all the bugs within the sim though

[Sieper]

Horrible.

[F1subman25]

How are drivers having these issues? I am constantly surprised by this energy system. I thought that the drivers will be much more in control of what they want to do with the battery, for example on formation lap it should be super simple to have a button that puts the car in the "recharge only" mode. Is there something forbidding this or are drivers/teams just making software mistakes (Mercedes and Red Bull were low on battery here).

This is the bit I don’t fully understand either. I would have thought on the warm up laps to the grid they’d be getting as much charge into the battery as possible so on the formation lap it would be a case of topping up anything lost?

Clearly there must be a lot more going on.

[AR3-GP]

In my opinion, with Hadjar PU failure, then it makes sense to turn things down and attempt to qualify for ADUO. This first part of the year is a write off anyway (overweight, other teething issues, and not in the same category as Merc/Ferrari). ADUO at 2% would grant 1 in season PU upgrade for 2026, and 1 in-season PU upgrade in 2027.

[Emag]

In my opinion, with Hadjar PU failure, then it makes sense to turn things down and attempt to qualify for ADUO. This first part of the year is a write off anyway (overweight, other teething issues, and not in the same category as Merc/Ferrari). ADUO at 2% would grant 1 in season PU upgrade for 2026, and 1 in-season PU upgrade in 2027.

I feel like RedBull is close enough with the PU that they could be very competitive this season if the car gets a major upgrade. I think they're in a better position than Ferrari engine-wise. It's probably not the right move to give up this early. In Australia we didn't see the full picture but I think they're way closer to Ferrari/Mercedes than McLaren.

Hadjar had a PU issue from lap 1 already so his pace is not representative. They struggled so much to get some SoC into that thing before it gave out completely. Even then, he was pulling away from Lindblad behind. Meanwhile Lando on that first stint was struggling to overtake him, so I think it's reasonable to assume that McLaren, when they're heavy, don't really have that much in the tank.

Whereas for Max, he had to cut through traffic so his pace is harder to read. On clear air he was definitely faster than Lando though, but it's fair to say they are a step behind Merc and Ferrari. If not peak pace, definitely on the deg side.

Let's see how China pans out. Should give us a clearer picture.

[AR3-GP]

In my opinion, with Hadjar PU failure, then it makes sense to turn things down and attempt to qualify for ADUO. This first part of the year is a write off anyway (overweight, other teething issues, and not in the same category as Merc/Ferrari). ADUO at 2% would grant 1 in season PU upgrade for 2026, and 1 in-season PU upgrade in 2027.

I feel like RedBull is close enough with the PU that they could be very competitive this season if the car gets a major upgrade. I think they're in a better position than Ferrari engine-wise. It's probably not the right move to give up this early. In Australia we didn't see the full picture but I think they're way closer to Ferrari/Mercedes than McLaren.

Hadjar had a PU issue from lap 1 already so his pace is not representative. They struggled so much to get some SoC into that thing before it gave out completely. Even then, he was pulling away from Lindblad behind. Meanwhile Lando on that first stint was struggling to overtake him, so I think it's reasonable to assume that McLaren, when they're heavy, don't really have that much in the tank.

Whereas for Max, he had to cut through traffic so his pace is harder to read. On clear air he was definitely faster than Lando though, but it's fair to say they are a step behind Merc and Ferrari. If not peak pace, definitely on the deg side.

Let's see how China pans out. Should give us a clearer picture.

I've seen too many seasons of F1 to expect anything. It's not like last year where Red Bull was still finishing right behind Mclaren which kept Verstappen in touch points wise. At the current performance level, Verstappen won't finish better than 5th which is just too far away in the points. Unless there is a transformative performance in China, I'm not expecting much in the first half of the year.

[Badger]

In my opinion, with Hadjar PU failure, then it makes sense to turn things down and attempt to qualify for ADUO. This first part of the year is a write off anyway (overweight, other teething issues, and not in the same category as Merc/Ferrari). ADUO at 2% would grant 1 in season PU upgrade for 2026, and 1 in-season PU upgrade in 2027.

I feel like RedBull is close enough with the PU that they could be very competitive this season if the car gets a major upgrade. I think they're in a better position than Ferrari engine-wise. It's probably not the right move to give up this early. In Australia we didn't see the full picture but I think they're way closer to Ferrari/Mercedes than McLaren.

Hadjar had a PU issue from lap 1 already so his pace is not representative. They struggled so much to get some SoC into that thing before it gave out completely. Even then, he was pulling away from Lindblad behind. Meanwhile Lando on that first stint was struggling to overtake him, so I think it's reasonable to assume that McLaren, when they're heavy, don't really have that much in the tank.

Whereas for Max, he had to cut through traffic so his pace is harder to read. On clear air he was definitely faster than Lando though, but it's fair to say they are a step behind Merc and Ferrari. If not peak pace, definitely on the deg side.

Let's see how China pans out. Should give us a clearer picture.

I've seen too many seasons of F1 to expect anything. It's not like last year where Red Bull was still finishing right behind Mclaren which kept Verstappen in touch points wise. At the current performance level, Verstappen won't finish better than 5th which is just too far away in the points. Unless there is a transformative performance in China, I'm not expecting much in the first half of the year.

You're drawing way too many conclusions from one race. Let it play out.

[Seanspeed]

How are drivers having these issues? I am constantly surprised by this energy system. I thought that the drivers will be much more in control of what they want to do with the battery, for example on formation lap it should be super simple to have a button that puts the car in the "recharge only" mode. Is there something forbidding this or are drivers/teams just making software mistakes (Mercedes and Red Bull were low on battery here).

This is the bit I don’t fully understand either. I would have thought on the warm up laps to the grid they’d be getting as much charge into the battery as possible so on the formation lap it would be a case of topping up anything lost?

Clearly there must be a lot more going on.

I did read somewhere that these teams are using AI for deployment strategy. Perhaps the computer is struggling to understand what to do on a formation lap, which will be even slower than like an outlap for qualifying or whatever.

Cuz yea, there's no reason that so many cars should all have the same basic issue.

[AR3-GP]

You're drawing way too many conclusions from one race. Let it play out.

We need to see where the weight reductions bring them. Realistically they are all going to have similar development rates on the aero side, so they must be close enough after the weight is corrected to have any chance.

[Emag]

How are drivers having these issues? I am constantly surprised by this energy system. I thought that the drivers will be much more in control of what they want to do with the battery, for example on formation lap it should be super simple to have a button that puts the car in the "recharge only" mode. Is there something forbidding this or are drivers/teams just making software mistakes (Mercedes and Red Bull were low on battery here).

This is the bit I don’t fully understand either. I would have thought on the warm up laps to the grid they’d be getting as much charge into the battery as possible so on the formation lap it would be a case of topping up anything lost?

Clearly there must be a lot more going on.

I did read somewhere that these teams are using AI for deployment strategy. Perhaps the computer is struggling to understand what to do on a formation lap, which will be even slower than like an outlap for qualifying or whatever.

Cuz yea, there's no reason that so many cars should all have the same basic issue.

API key ran out of credits during the formation lap

[AR3-GP]

News on Hadjar's retirement?

It sounds like the combustion engine overheated during the formation lap or during the long wait on the grid.

Adding further context, Hadjar said: “The practice sessions on these young engines, they are not as demanding as a race procedure, laps to the grid. Temperatures are going up and down, so it’s very difficult for the guys.”

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/03/ ... etirement/

There's a 2nd interview that I can't find right now, where he said more clearly something about temperature of PU. So I think it's that.


Verstappen also said this during pre-season:

“You always have to take temperature into account, for example, of the engine itself, but also the ambient conditions. That always has a significant influence on an engine's performance. In that area, we can still take a step forward.

So the cooling could be a weakness for this PU spec. They will be able to make homologation revisions through the reliability update clause. We will probably see that when the RB-Ford cars (VER,LIN,LAW) take the 2nd PU of the season.

[Vettel165]

Max knew what would happen already back in 2023- a true racer. This is not F1 anymore. First time in my life I am not excited for the next race. I cant believe really what happened to my favourite sport.