Jolyon Palmer thinks Red Bull’s ‘racing spirit’ for Max Verstappen cost them RB22 development

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Red Bull choosing to prioritise Max Verstappen’s late-season resurgence in the 2025 championship race is hurting them this season.

Verstappen’s desire to compete for a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship last season led to Red Bull focusing on improving the RB21 to give him a real chance.

In the end, Verstappen made things really close, but Lando Norris managed to hold him off in the final race in Abu Dhabi to secure the world championship.

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This caused Red Bull’s development of the RB22 to stall, and we’re seeing the result of that stalling now. Ironically, Red Bull cannot fix the RB22 without sacrificing 2027, the same position they found themselves in last year.

And now, Jolyon Palmer has questioned why Red Bull would dedicate so much of their effort and energy to Max Verstappen only to come up short.

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Jolyon Palmer suggests Red Bull made a mistake not prioritising RB22 development for Max Verstappen

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Jolyon Palmer discussed Red Bull’s decision to prioritise Max Verstappen and improving the RB21 to help him compete for the championship last season.

For all the effort Red Bull put in to get Verstappen a good car, it proved futile. Furthermore, Red Bull seemingly discounted this season over concerns about their power unit, which has actually proven to not be the problem.

“You can admire the racing spirit, I completely get it. We’re broadcasters. What an amazing year it was. In the end, it came down to the last lap of Abu Dhabi. What a turnaround.

“I do think it’s bought Laurent and Red Bull a bit of time because they’ve shown how well they can develop a car and get the race team back into winning mode, where they were in a bit of free fall before.

“It’s a shame they didn’t win it if they were going to do that, though, because there was so much that went their way as well… They got so close with all of that development, and with all that development, 100% focus on last year to come so close.

“Two points, one position for Lando, and to not quite get it, and then also compromise this set of regs is a tough one. I like the racing spirit, but I guess that I think they knew this year they were already going to be compromised because of the power unit.

“What they probably didn’t know is actually, their power unit is pretty solid, and it’s better than they thought last summer… It’s just that the car is underdeveloped. And you think, ’Oh, maybe we actually could have done a little bit more for this year. But we enjoyed the fight in 2025.”

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Jolyon Palmer claims Red Bull squandered RB22 for ‘barely an opportunity’ at world championship

When responding to James Hinchcliffe, who said Red Bull’s decision to focus on 2025 made sense, he noted that the opportunity was so marginal that Red Bull didn’t do the right thing.

“It was barely an opportunity last year, though, wasn’t it. So when Laurent came in, Red Bull went nowhere… If you rewind to Budapest, it made no sense at that point for them to continue developing.

“I bet if we’d spoken to you in summer break last year and you said Red Bull could throw everything at this year or look to next year, there’s not a chance you’re going to say, ’Yeah, keep developing till Abu Dhabi.’”

It’s hard to disagree with Palmer’s statements, especially considering how things have panned out since. With almost no prospect of a title race this season, Verstappen has prioritised GT racing over Red Bull.

And while Verstappen could get his way in 2031 with F1 officials considering introducing the V8 turbo engine, he will have to struggle at least for another season under the current regulations.