2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[les arcs]

For me the main concern is not the pure performance of the car. I just don't feel the energy in the team. I mean even the pitstops are bad, like a midfield team.
Red Bull lost too many key people in past years without even 1 big hire. You can't lose so many people without having a toll in performance.

I think team really needs a big re-shuffle, some hiring and org changes before they can compete in the top again.
At least they had a good baseline car at the end of the last era. Now when they need to create something from scratch, they are exposed.

I am 100% certain, Jos and Oliver Mintzalaf have great plans to quickly fix everything and win this year's championship. In Jos the boss, we trust.

Yes, Just what they need…..Jos and Mintzalaf….Lol

[venkyhere]

I am 100% certain, Jos and Oliver Mintzalaf have great plans to quickly fix everything and win this year's championship. In Jos the boss, we trust.

Without Newey, this is Wache's masterpiece, as Horner said Newey wasn't the important link before he left.

I think this is a wrong accusation still. That the RedBull is snappy as hell and not well balanced...well that is not really surprising after the last two years.

My suspicion: The ICE is $hit.
- Bad ICE efficiency is killing aero, as you need more cooling
- Bad ICE efficiency kills your pace as you carry more fuel
- Turbo size seems to affect the starting performance, there are suspicions Ferrari uses a small one...guess what the Americans usually do...
- Ford being super innovative and doing compression ratio tricks. The more I think about this...

That also puts a new level to the politics about the CR tricks. If RedBull knew before, that the ICE is not up to the game...they do not want to slow down Merc, but they want to get as much freedom for ADUO changes and rather want Ferrari and Audi to run into the same trouble with changing the ICE.

If you think Ford had a role to play in deciding the size of the turbo, or in deciding the compression ratio; well, that explains why your suspicion is the diametrically opposite of most others in this thread (who, myself included, think it's the chassis/aero thats the achilles heel). Anyway, everyone being entitled to their opinion etc etc.....

[organic]

Woeful chassis and aero is the issue. Both drivers are talking about a huge grip limitation.

[basti313]

Without Newey, this is Wache's masterpiece, as Horner said Newey wasn't the important link before he left.

I think this is a wrong accusation still. That the RedBull is snappy as hell and not well balanced...well that is not really surprising after the last two years.

My suspicion: The ICE is $hit.
- Bad ICE efficiency is killing aero, as you need more cooling
- Bad ICE efficiency kills your pace as you carry more fuel
- Turbo size seems to affect the starting performance, there are suspicions Ferrari uses a small one...guess what the Americans usually do...
- Ford being super innovative and doing compression ratio tricks. The more I think about this...

That also puts a new level to the politics about the CR tricks. If RedBull knew before, that the ICE is not up to the game...they do not want to slow down Merc, but they want to get as much freedom for ADUO changes and rather want Ferrari and Audi to run into the same trouble with changing the ICE.

If you think Ford had a role to play in deciding the size of the turbo, or in deciding the compression ratio; well, that explains why your suspicion is the diametrically opposite of most others in this thread (who, myself included, think it's the chassis/aero thats the achilles heel). Anyway, everyone being entitled to their opinion etc etc.....

Ok, might not be Ford designing the ICE....

But: How do you explain, that the whole RedBull gang is now behind Alpine, Haas, the RB even behind the Audi. Everyone that put together a half decent car with a Ferrari or Mercedes engine has more pace than the "RB Ford" powered cars, especially in the race, not even taking the driver into account.

This is just a coincidence, that Haas is currently faster than RedBull? One can, of course, discuss again and again the lack of Newey, but I see no Newey in Alpine. Just a Merc engine.

[basti313]

Woeful chassis and aero is the issue. Both drivers are talking about a huge grip limitation.

If the ICE needs more cooling -> aero bad -> grip is bad.

[venkyhere]

But: How do you explain, that the whole RedBull gang is now behind Alpine, Haas, the RB even behind the Audi. Everyone that put together a half decent car with a Ferrari or Mercedes engine has more pace than the "RB Ford" powered cars, especially in the race, not even taking the driver into account.

Do you remember Brazil 2025 ? They were slower than a lot more teams than Alpine and Haas, on Friday and Saturday. Then the car was brought out of parc ferme' and it became the fastest car on Sunday. That was a 'blip' in the phoenix-like resurgence post the Monza floor. So the whole 'car setup' thing is super-sensitive for the kind of design philosophy that the entire team uses.

In 2026 :
1. correlation still seems to be an issue, the 'base setup' provided by simulator is still miles off the real world when they come out in FP1. Then its the same drama thorugh FP2 and FP3, and even some post FP3 changes, to get the car to a competitive level. The single FP didn't help in China
2. The chassis/aero looks undercooked, since even with a bad setup, the car has to have one redeeming corner type where it 'looks ok'. That was not the case in Australia/China, the car is poor irrespective of the corner type - slow/medium/high speed. Balance is terrible, doesn't look like setup problem alone. (I even mistakenly placed my bets that they would atleast get the high speed 7-8-9 (only) right in terms of aero balance and Max would do the rest. Now, Suzuka sector1 looks like a disaster in waiting - something unheard of from a redbull car, from 2021 until now)
3. It's difficult to comment on the PU, how 'behind' it is w.r.t the merc/ferrari, but the straights looked 'ok' in both races, hinting that it may not be all that bad and that the engine is capable to keep the team in 'the big four'.

[basti313]

In 2026 :
1. correlation still seems to be an issue, the 'base setup' provided by simulator is still miles off the real world when they come out in FP1. Then its the same drama thorugh FP2 and FP3, and even some post FP3 changes, to get the car to a competitive level. The single FP didn't help in China

Well, the point is we can see all four RB cars with very similar pace at peak and all very similar behind or at best at level with Haas, Audi and Alpine. If we exclude Williams, they are pessimistically seen behind all Ferrari and Merc powered cars. Is this a smoking gun or not? For me this is a bit too much to call it a setup issue.

2. The chassis/aero looks undercooked, since even with a bad setup, the car has to have one redeeming corner type where it 'looks ok'. That was not the case in Australia/China, the car is poor irrespective of the corner type - slow/medium/high speed. Balance is terrible, doesn't look like setup problem alone.

Yes, that is also what I can see. That points to a substantial lack of downforce. Although people here are right that claim there is not a linear correlation from downforce to straight line performance anymore, it is still an influence of power, vs. downforce you can extract from the car (floor still a major factor). So lack of power means still you need to dial down on drag.

3. It's difficult to comment on the PU, how 'behind' it is w.r.t the merc/ferrari, but the straights looked 'ok' in both races, hinting that it may not be all that bad and that the engine is capable to keep the team in 'the big four'.

I think you would need to do a comparison like the video that puts Lec and Ant next to each other in the Q3 laps. Only there you really see how the power distribution works. Like you can see where they charge and where not. And you see that Merc destroys Ferrari alone between turn 4 and 6 without substantial more charging anywhere. Straight line might be just looking good because they have more charging somewhere.

[Paa]

Do we know what kind of simulator Red Bull uses? How moder/well-developed is it to others?
We talked a lot about wind-tunnel, but that alone would't explain their constant setup issues.
If I would be TP looking at the simulator would be my first priority (besides hiring some fresh blood).

[Wouter]

Do we know what kind of simulator Red Bull uses? How moder/well-developed is it to others?
We talked a lot about wind-tunnel, but that alone would't explain their constant setup issues.
If I would be TP looking at the simulator would be my first priority (besides hiring some fresh blood).

.
Rudy van Buren, RBR sim driver, answers the question when we ask him how realistic their F1 sim is. “The fact that we can overlay the data from the track and the sim like that already indicates how realistic it is. Of course, we don't generate the G-forces that the drivers feel in the sim, but otherwise: the braking, the steering, the whole shebang. We are all crammed into a Formula 1 car with helmets on. It really comes close.”

Red Bull Racing (RBR) has a very advanced, full-scale Formula 1 simulator at its factory in Milton Keynes, which is used for car development and preparation for race weekends. This is a custom-built machine, not a consumer product.

Here are the key features of the RBR simulator in Milton Keynes:

The simulator is mounted on a so-called hexapod (6-axis) motion platform. This provides 'six degrees of freedom', allowing drivers to realistically feel the forces (braking, accelerating, steering).

The simulator is located in an enclosed room with a 180-degree (or more) panoramic screen or a wrap-around LED screen. The cockpit itself is often a real or highly accurate replica of the current RBR car (e.g., the RB19/RB20), including working controls and steering system.

The system utilizes highly advanced computer models based on the real mechanical, dynamic, and aerodynamic characteristics of the F1 car. They use specialized software, often based on rFpro, to simulate the track and weather conditions.

The simulator is used for car setup, testing new parts, analyzing tire wear, and driver training.

[vorticism]

It’s been eight months and there’s still not been one article, press release, employee statement, nor pundit’s commentary able to answer one simple question: why on Earth would you replace Chrisian Horner with... Laurent Mekies?

[venkyhere]

Do we know what kind of simulator Red Bull uses? How moder/well-developed is it to others?
We talked a lot about wind-tunnel, but that alone would't explain their constant setup issues.
If I would be TP looking at the simulator would be my first priority (besides hiring some fresh blood).

.
Rudy van Buren, RBR sim driver, answers the question when we ask him how realistic their F1 sim is. “The fact that we can overlay the data from the track and the sim like that already indicates how realistic it is. Of course, we don't generate the G-forces that the drivers feel in the sim, but otherwise: the braking, the steering, the whole shebang. We are all crammed into a Formula 1 car with helmets on. It really comes close.”

Red Bull Racing (RBR) has a very advanced, full-scale Formula 1 simulator at its factory in Milton Keynes, which is used for car development and preparation for race weekends. This is a custom-built machine, not a consumer product.

Here are the key features of the RBR simulator in Milton Keynes:

The simulator is mounted on a so-called hexapod (6-axis) motion platform. This provides 'six degrees of freedom', allowing drivers to realistically feel the forces (braking, accelerating, steering).

The simulator is located in an enclosed room with a 180-degree (or more) panoramic screen or a wrap-around LED screen. The cockpit itself is often a real or highly accurate replica of the current RBR car (e.g., the RB19/RB20), including working controls and steering system.

The system utilizes highly advanced computer models based on the real mechanical, dynamic, and aerodynamic characteristics of the F1 car. They use specialized software, often based on rFpro, to simulate the track and weather conditions.

The simulator is used for car setup, testing new parts, analyzing tire wear, and driver training.

All fine. It's a description of what an F1 factory simulator is.
That description doesn't mean it's 'doing it's job perfectly'. The team leaders themselves have been complaining of 'correlation issue' for the past 2 years.

[loekf2]

Do we know what kind of simulator Red Bull uses? How moder/well-developed is it to others?
We talked a lot about wind-tunnel, but that alone would't explain their constant setup issues.
If I would be TP looking at the simulator would be my first priority (besides hiring some fresh blood).

.
Rudy van Buren, RBR sim driver, answers the question when we ask him how realistic their F1 sim is. “The fact that we can overlay the data from the track and the sim like that already indicates how realistic it is. Of course, we don't generate the G-forces that the drivers feel in the sim, but otherwise: the braking, the steering, the whole shebang. We are all crammed into a Formula 1 car with helmets on. It really comes close.”

Red Bull Racing (RBR) has a very advanced, full-scale Formula 1 simulator at its factory in Milton Keynes, which is used for car development and preparation for race weekends. This is a custom-built machine, not a consumer product.

Here are the key features of the RBR simulator in Milton Keynes:

The simulator is mounted on a so-called hexapod (6-axis) motion platform. This provides 'six degrees of freedom', allowing drivers to realistically feel the forces (braking, accelerating, steering).

The simulator is located in an enclosed room with a 180-degree (or more) panoramic screen or a wrap-around LED screen. The cockpit itself is often a real or highly accurate replica of the current RBR car (e.g., the RB19/RB20), including working controls and steering system.

The system utilizes highly advanced computer models based on the real mechanical, dynamic, and aerodynamic characteristics of the F1 car. They use specialized software, often based on rFpro, to simulate the track and weather conditions.

The simulator is used for car setup, testing new parts, analyzing tire wear, and driver training.

All fine. It's a description of what an F1 factory simulator is.
That description doesn't mean it's 'doing it's job perfectly'. The team leaders themselves have been complaining of 'correlation issue' for the past 2 years.

Correlation should mean:

- WIndtunnel vs. CFD simulations
- Real world data vs. modeling and impacting CFD simulations or windtunnel performance

Windtunnel is just airflow. I assume they model g-forces, tire wear, tire performance, grip etc. and somehow
combine everything together. A driver can "feel" that on a simulator, when you put human input into the equations.

The fact that they designed cars for a last year with a very narrow setup window they can't get a grip on is a fundamental flaw. I wonder if it's incompetence, lack of competence, ignorance or stupidity.

For one thing, I fail to see the team's car philosphy. Is it fast corners, slow corners, straights, all-round performance ?

[f1isgood]

At the end of the day Red Bulls chassis team have no excuses to be behind Mercedes. No amount of excuses can hide from this reality.

RBPT deserves more credit than criticism at this point.


Last year after Mekies appointment we heard about the "good" vibes and how the team was working as a "whole". What a car this vibes team produced

[f1isgood]

It’s been eight months and there’s still not been one article, press release, employee statement, nor pundit’s commentary able to answer one simple question: why on Earth would you replace Chrisian Horner with... Laurent Mekies?

Red Bull Racing is dead. Red Bull corporation is well and alive. Mekies is a Vasseur like appointment. He's the face of Red Bull Austria that managed to oust Horner. I don't know what credentials he has but he certainly has the corporates full backing as long as Verstappen doesn't threaten to leave IMO.

[lh13]

It’s been eight months and there’s still not been one article, press release, employee statement, nor pundit’s commentary able to answer one simple question: why on Earth would you replace Chrisian Horner with... Laurent Mekies?

Same reason Real Madrid replaced Alonso with Arbeloa. They wanted a yes man, who does what he's told, nothing more, nothing less.