2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[DJ Downforce]

So Verstappen did have the floor edge upgrade and Hadjar did not. Not a good start in the development battle if it didnt help at all. Lets see if this is also the case in the race. May be with high fuel load it is a bit better.

If they need to invest their energy in making the base of the car good, they drop behind in putting performace in the package.

Tbh on the evidence of today Hadjar could've probably pipped Gasly in q3 with the upgrade

Where's the actual evidence it is an "upgrade"?

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. Hadjar has adapted his style for these cars more effectively at the moment. I think he could've probably pipped Gasly with the fairly substantial upgrades!

[Valeo]

Tbh on the evidence of today Hadjar could've probably pipped Gasly in q3 with the upgrade

Where's the actual evidence it is an "upgrade"?

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. Hadjar has adapted his style for these cars more effectively at the moment. I think he could've probably pipped Gasly with the fairly substantial upgrades!

That's your assumption.
Fact is, it's not working like it should, otherwise both cars would run it if it was a sure improvement.

[Rikhart]

Tbh on the evidence of today Hadjar could've probably pipped Gasly in q3 with the upgrade

Where's the actual evidence it is an "upgrade"?

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. !

Why yes, this must surely be the case. I mean, the driver that wins in anything (anywhere) he drives, just is not able to adapt to current year regulations. He has been adapting to more than a decade of changes in F1, it's just that this year is too much for him.

Yes.

[pantherxxx]

Whatever, they ruined the sport with these stupid regulations. This is not racing anymore. These cars not require real driver skill to be fast. Verstappen enjoys driving Gt3 cars a hundred times more. And I can't blame him. F1 is dead. I don't even care about it at this point. Was good while it lasted.

[DJ Downforce]

Where's the actual evidence it is an "upgrade"?

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. !

Why yes, this must surely be the case. I mean, the driver that wins in anything (anywhere) he drives, just is not able to adapt to current year regulations. He has been adapting to more than a decade of changes in F1, it's just that this year is too much for him.

Yes.

That's the past, every driver faces regs eventually that they struggle with. Hamilton GE cars and so far Verstappen 2026 cars

Maybe he'll be more comfortable when they amend the battery rules to fix qualifying

[DJ Downforce]

Whatever, they ruined the sport with these stupid regulations. This is not racing anymore. These cars not require real driver skill to be fast. Verstappen enjoys driving Gt3 cars a hundred times more. And I can't blame him. F1 is dead. I don't even care about it at this point. Was good while it lasted.

How do you explain a bigger gap than 1 tenth between teammates then? Surely driver skill must account for a portion of gaps

[Seanspeed]

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. !

Why yes, this must surely be the case. I mean, the driver that wins in anything (anywhere) he drives, just is not able to adapt to current year regulations. He has been adapting to more than a decade of changes in F1, it's just that this year is too much for him.

Yes.

That's the past, every driver faces regs eventually that they struggle with. Hamilton GE cars and so far Verstappen 2026 cars

Maybe he'll be more comfortable when they amend the battery rules to fix qualifying

I still so no solid reasoning for this 'Hamilton had issues with ground effect cars' claim, at least more than anybody else. Why was he still beating Russell in 2022 and 2023?

I think Verstappen has absolutely earned the benefit of the doubt on his adaptability here. Genuinely one of the most adaptable drivers we've ever seen, as most all the best drivers are.

[Seanspeed]

Whatever, they ruined the sport with these stupid regulations. This is not racing anymore. These cars not require real driver skill to be fast. Verstappen enjoys driving Gt3 cars a hundred times more. And I can't blame him. F1 is dead. I don't even care about it at this point. Was good while it lasted.

How do you explain a bigger gap than 1 tenth between teammates then? Surely driver skill must account for a portion of gaps

Well deployment anomalies seem to be messing with a lot of people during qualifying so far. Because otherwise, the drivers seem to generally be closer with each other than usual.

[f1isgood]

Verstappen is not driving to his level. Of course people who have waited for his downfall will pile on him. It's just natural.

We should also acknowledge that Hadjar is doing a better job.

Car is just 1s off pole guys. What a fantastic job at MK. They cooked so hard.

[Vettel165]

There is no downfall, calm down, the car is bad, overrsteer, understeer in nearly every corner. The updates brought even more unstability... Max is the driver beside Charles who can make the difference in extracting the maximum out of the car, the problem is you cant with this cars. Its very bad, battery-arcade f1...

[Juzh]

"downfall" lol ahahahah

[f1isgood]

Whatever, they ruined the sport with these stupid regulations. This is not racing anymore. These cars not require real driver skill to be fast. Verstappen enjoys driving Gt3 cars a hundred times more. And I can't blame him. F1 is dead. I don't even care about it at this point. Was good while it lasted.

How do you explain a bigger gap than 1 tenth between teammates then? Surely driver skill must account for a portion of gaps

Well deployment anomalies seem to be messing with a lot of people during qualifying so far. Because otherwise, the drivers seem to generally be closer with each other than usual.

Drivers are generally close for the most obvious reasons that the areas where drivers can make a difference is fundamentally gone in a rather significant fashion. Braking and cornering is largely limited now. Of course it helps teams have more closer drivers but that's another discussion.

[venkyhere]

Tbh on the evidence of today Hadjar could've probably pipped Gasly in q3 with the upgrade

Where's the actual evidence it is an "upgrade"?

Verstappen is still trying to drive the car like it's a Venturi floor car. Hadjar has adapted his style for these cars more effectively at the moment. I think he could've probably pipped Gasly with the fairly substantial upgrades!

Hmm... I wonder what will happen to your conclusion in case Verstappen finishes the race ahead of Hadjar tomorrow. Don't you think you are drawing inferences from a very small sample set ?

[avantman]

How do you explain a bigger gap than 1 tenth between teammates then? Surely driver skill must account for a portion of gaps

Well deployment anomalies seem to be messing with a lot of people during qualifying so far. Because otherwise, the drivers seem to generally be closer with each other than usual.

Drivers are generally close for the most obvious reasons that the areas where drivers can make a difference is fundamentally gone in a rather significant fashion. Braking and cornering is largely limited now. Of course it helps teams have more closer drivers but that's another discussion.

What drivers are close? Watch Chinese grand prix again, Verstsppen was almost 20 seconds ahead of Hadjar before he got an issue, was lapping 5-8 tenths faster and battling the faster cars. all on true pace and merit, Isack had no car issues affecting his lace. If not for very convenient safety car the gap would’ve been 40-50+ seconds. What formula are all these
People that say hadjar is doing a better job(adapted better) watching?

[GrizzleBoy]

Max can win in a Haas. Hes literally the most complete driver in F1s history. His adaptability and special ability to rotate a car through a corner is legendary.

His mentality is one of the strongest on the grid and no matter what you throw at him, hes unshakeable and his ability to shine through and make the difference is second to none.

His style is impetuous. His defense is impregnable. Hes just ferocious. He want your heart.

When he has a good car.

Otherwise hes not.

Like most good F1 drivers.