Red Bull admit 'sensitive' RB22 is eroding driver confidence and masking engine advantage

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted the RB22's acute sensitivity to minor variables is compounding the team's struggles, eroding driver confidence and masking its class-leading engine. Despite the FIA rating Red Bull's combustion engine as the strongest via the ADUO system, the team remains the only top-four outfit without a win in the opening half of 2026 as chassis limitations prevent Max Verstappen from consistently fighting at the front.

Why it matters:

Red Bull's predicament underscores how the 2026 technical regulations have magnified the importance of chassis stability. With an engine advantage rendered irrelevant by an unpredictable car, the team risks losing ground to rivals unless it quickly restores driver confidence and extracts the pace Mekies insists exists within the concept.

The details:

• Mekies stated the RB22 is vulnerable to the smallest external changes, from gravel damage to shifting wind directions, each pushing the car to the edge of its performance window.
• The issue has persisted since round one and carries a double penalty: it costs raw lap time while stripping drivers of the confidence needed to push the limit.
• Verstappen has claimed four podiums across 11 rounds, but the team has been unable to challenge frontrunners consistently, leaving it as the only winless squad among the leading quartet.
• The FIA's ADUO data confirms Red Bull possesses the strongest combustion engine in the field, isolating the chassis as the clear bottleneck.

What's next:

Red Bull faces a race against time to stabilize the RB22's aerodynamic platform without diverting excessive resources from its 2027 challenger. If the team can convert Mekies's optimism into concrete gains, it may salvage the second half of the season, but the window to fix a fundamentally sensitive concept is narrowing.