Red Bull Racing returns to Formula 1 after the August break, struggling to find a performance pattern for the RB22. The team’s technical director, Pierre Waché, admitted that the team lacks confidence in the car and encounters different problems each time they go on track.
Read more F1: McNish praises Bortoleto’s work ethic: «This is what we need right now»
This situation is concerning because Red Bull has yet to win a race under the new 2026 regulations, despite having contested the 2025 title in a fierce battle with McLaren. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have also reported difficulties in understanding and extracting consistent performance from the car.
At the Hungarian GP, Verstappen finished second but said he couldn’t explain how he achieved the result, after considering the RB22 ‘undrivable’ during the weekend: “Overall, I still don’t quite understand how we ended up second. But I think, as a team, we had a strong performance. So, yes, I see this as a kind of performance above what we expected,” the Dutchman said while still in Hungary.
Hadjar also faced difficulties finding a competitive setup. After starting eighth and finishing sixth, the Frenchman said he couldn’t find a sweet spot to make the car truly drivable and pointed out issues with behavior during downshifts and grip.
Read more F1 today: Bortoleto receives praise and Tsunoda negotiates exit
Waché acknowledged that Red Bull is behind the level shown last year and highlighted the progress of rivals since Monaco: “With this new car, you see a different problem every time you go on track, when you put the car on the ground. We try to maximize what we have, but there is no confidence,” added the technical director.
Despite this scenario, Waché positively evaluated the work done by the team throughout 2026 so far: “We are not yet where we would like to be, but you try to do your best, understand what is not working and what you can do better. After that, you see where you stand. But the main thing is that the progress has been interesting as a team,” he concluded.
Read more F1: Ferrari may eventually prioritize Hamilton in the title fight
