Red Bull Racing may have taken an important step to solve one of Max Verstappen’s main problems in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The team conducted a private test at Silverstone to work on starting procedures, aiming to fix the difficulties faced by the Dutchman throughout the season.
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According to GPblog, the activity took place during a team filming day. The goal was to find a solution for the inconsistent starts that affected both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in several rounds this year.
Failures in pit lane and grid starts have been recurring with the RB22. At the British GP, for example, Verstappen lost several positions right after the lights went out and had to recover ground throughout the race with a series of overtakes.
Given the frequency of the problems, the internal assessment is that the origin lies in the car and not the drivers. Therefore, Red Bull intensified work in recent weeks, using one of their filming days to conduct specific start tests with Hadjar in a closed environment.
There is no confirmation yet that the solution found is definitive. However, images that circulated on social media after the first two free practice sessions on Friday at Spa-Francorchamps showed Verstappen performing starts considered consistent.
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Solving this issue is seen as fundamental for the ambitions of the team and the four-time world champion. On several occasions this season, losing positions in the first meters compromised the rest of the race, especially in battles against Ferrari and Mercedes.
Even when the RB22 showed enough pace to fight for significant results, recovering lost time at starts proved to be a complicated task. Therefore, any improvement can represent a significant gain for the rest of the championship.
However, Red Bull will not have new opportunities to repeat this type of work in 2026. The regulations allow only two filming days per season, and the team has already used all available sessions after the test conducted at Silverstone.
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