2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[f1isgood]

Imo the chassis has some fundamental issues. I don't see how its simply about adding performance. Verstappen's potential talk is all good but looks like he's being sold some heavy dose of hopium. They're going to be fighting Haas.

[Valeo]

Paul Monaghan (Chief Engineer at RBR): “You can see from our speed that the car is not performing to the usual standards we set for ourselves and our lap time is not good. It was quite challenging, but we have identified a number of issues with the car and we need to work particularly on improving the balance and grip. Now it is about confirming all the problems and understanding them well enough to make effective adjustments for tomorrow.”

“The upgrades we brought are quite substantial, so thanks to everyone at the factory for getting them here, as that was a huge effort. The upgrades work, but now we need to sort out the other aspects of the car. As always, we will try to figure out what went wrong and work on understanding the issues, fixing them, and sending the car out on the track tomorrow.”

https://x.com/i/status/2037472923712127227

[f1isgood]

Say optimistically we find half a second in weight. I think they need to find half a second more from performance to comfortably get ahead of the Haas and Alpine.

[Valeo]

RacingNews365 understands that, yes, Red Bull is struggling with the overall weight of its car. However, by nine to 10 kilograms, not 20, and even then, certain parameters have to be taken into consideration, such as setup changes. Even the number of sensors on a car has an influence.

Ten kilograms is naturally, however, not what Red Bull wants, particularly given that a team and driver pay a price for extra weight in lap time. In this instance, 10kg equates to around two-tenths of a second and has an effect on the balance of a car.

At the start of the season, with an overweight car, Red Bull was at least in the mix at the front of the field. Over the course of the past few weeks, however, whilst rivals have made gains in such an area, Red Bull has slipped to the midfield.

RacingNews365 further understands that Red Bull is preparing an update package for the Miami GP, with the new parts expected to reduce weight, resulting in better lap times and improved balance.

Initially, the package was to be introduced in Bahrain, but due to the cancellation of that race, Verstappen and Hadjar will have to be a little more patient before hopefully driving a much lighter car.

https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-max- ... -as-feared

[pantherxxx]

10 kg is definitively way more than just 2 tenths. More like half a second with these regs.

[Emag]

It's still surprising they say 10kg though. Unless the scale numbers we had in china were upscaling artifacts, that doesn't quite add up. It only makes sense if RedBull was running intentionally with a heavier ballast in qualifying, which they had no reason to.

[loekf2]

10 kg is definitively way more than just 2 tenths. More like half a second with these regs.

I still think there's a fundamental issue with the chassis, which is hard to fix.

If it's engine related, then we still have a long way to go, until they have mastered an engine in a F1
car, which is also a lot of software. But... what have they been doing on dyno's and simulators then ?
Or.. is an engine in a car on a circuit really that different ?

[erikejw]

"But... what have they been doing on dyno's and simulators then ?

Or.. is an engine in a car on a circuit really that different ?"

Ask Aston Martin

10 kg is definitively way more than just 2 tenths. More like half a second with these regs.

I still think there's a fundamental issue with the chassis, which is hard to fix.

If it's engine related, then we still have a long way to go, until they have mastered an engine in a F1
car, which is also a lot of software. But... what have they been doing on dyno's and simulators then ?
Or.. is an engine in a car on a circuit really that different ?

[FittingMechanics]

It's still surprising they say 10kg though. Unless the scale numbers we had in china were upscaling artifacts, that doesn't quite add up. It only makes sense if RedBull was running intentionally with a heavier ballast in qualifying, which they had no reason to.

They did weigh Hadjar's car.

Mystery of Red Bull second seat explained /s

[Valeo]

The issues appear to extend beyond simple aerodynamic mapping problems. Sources suggest the troubles stem from inadequate integration between the car's dynamic response, particularly the suspension system, and the load variations created by aerodynamic distribution changes across different track sections.

https://racingnews365.com/major-red-bul ... a-struggle

[f1isgood]

The issues appear to extend beyond simple aerodynamic mapping problems. Sources suggest the troubles stem from inadequate integration between the car's dynamic response, particularly the suspension system, and the load variations created by aerodynamic distribution changes across different track sections.

https://racingnews365.com/major-red-bul ... a-struggle

Sounds pretty serious. These issues are not easy to resolve.

[Xyz22]

Seems like the car has a huge lack of load for whatever reason.

[loekf2]

The issues appear to extend beyond simple aerodynamic mapping problems. Sources suggest the troubles stem from inadequate integration between the car's dynamic response, particularly the suspension system, and the load variations created by aerodynamic distribution changes across different track sections.

https://racingnews365.com/major-red-bul ... a-struggle

That is a difficult wording, translation … the chassis is just bad. Whoever was responsible did a bad job. Hard to fix I would say. It is determined by weight distribution, suspension, aero etc.

[Badger]

The issues appear to extend beyond simple aerodynamic mapping problems. Sources suggest the troubles stem from inadequate integration between the car's dynamic response, particularly the suspension system, and the load variations created by aerodynamic distribution changes across different track sections.

https://racingnews365.com/major-red-bul ... a-struggle

I believe it. When I look at the car and the upgrades brought they look good, they are the sort of creative and intricate solutions you'd expect from RB, but it's not translating to the track. I have no doubt that these upgrades look great in the models they have, but it's what isn't in the models that is creating the issues. Until they get a handle on that it will be hard to develop well.

[JordanMugen]

It's a pretty car!

Shame it is not very fast.

Is it generally accepted that the engine is on the same level as Audi, but the RB22 (perhaps at the fault of a heavy power unit? ) is overweight and has a poor balance?

Say optimistically we find half a second in weight. I think they need to find half a second more from performance to comfortably get ahead of the Haas and Alpine.

I see!

Seems like the car has a huge lack of load for whatever reason.

That is a difficult wording, translation … the chassis is just bad. Whoever was responsible did a bad job. Hard to fix I would say. It is determined by weight distribution, suspension, aero etc.

This seems unfair. Wache's team balanced the requirements of aero maps and mechanical grip superbly in the 2025 development.