Max Verstappen had a frustrating day at the Formula 1 Australian GP, completing the race in sixth place after starting from 20th position, and his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, took the moment to take a jab at the race leaders.
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During the race, Verstappen repeatedly complained about problems with his RB22, from the tires to the ‘boost’ mode and energy management. On lap 17, the Dutchman commented: “The tires are not good, they are simply dying,” repeating on lap 24 that “All the tires are terrible.” Later, on lap 36, he pointed out flaws in the ‘boost’: “The ‘boost’ pattern is screwed up,” and on lap 52 he added: “The energy deployment stuck again. Damn it.”
Even with an impressive recovery from 20th to 6th position, Verstappen made clear his dissatisfaction with the 2026 cars. After the race, Lambiase further provoked the race leaders, saying: “There are some drivers up there who are euphoric about all this.” The team seemed to refer to Mercedes’ optimism after the one-two victory and Lewis Hamilton’s enthusiasm for the new cars after finishing fourth.
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Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies thanked Verstappen for the effort: “Even starting from P20 to P6, and facing some frustrations, you put up a good fight and we learned from this race as a group.” Verstappen replied: “It was super frustrating to drive, but thanks for everyone’s effort,” he added.
The tension makes it clear that while some drivers are adapting to the new 2026 rules, Red Bull still faces challenges in balancing performance and reliability in its RB22.
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