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Red Bull suffered a torrid weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen retired with an ERS issue. The team have fallen way behind rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.
The Milton Keynes outfit are still learning their in-house power unit in 2026 after the first two rounds of the season. But these races have exposed how far behind Red Bull are compared to the top two.
Mercedes have won both races thus far in 2026, with Ferrari close behind. Meanwhile, Red Bull have suffered two mechanical DNFs in that time, with Isack Hadjar in Melbourne and Verstappen at the Chinese Grand Prix.
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The Dutchman finished over 50 seconds behind race winner George Russell in Australia, before being forced into retirement in Shanghai. Verstappen blasted the 2026 regulations, as he is not finding any comfort or enjoyment from the car.
Hadjar finished eighth for Red Bull in China, but he was almost a minute and a half behind Kimi Antonelli at the front. The team have a huge task ahead of them to close that gap, but Verstappen says that could be a long way away.
Max Verstappen says it will take ‘months’ for Red Bull to catch Ferrari and Mercedes
Journalist Nate Saunders spoke to the four-time champion in the media pen after the race. Verstappen was despondent about his car and the new rule set, and even more so about Red Bull’s chances moving forward.
He thinks it will take ‘months’ to catch up to Mercedes and Ferrari, as Saunders recounted via ESPN UK: “I do think we need more races to really see it. But undeniably, the race out in front was unbelievable.
“And I just can’t see Max getting to a place anytime soon where he feels happy about it because the Red Bull also just looks so off the pace. And I asked him as well, I said, ‘Does it even feel tangible? Do you even feel like, is the Mercedes and Ferrari even close?
“He just said, ‘No, they’re not. This is going to take months if we can even get to them this year.’ So, yeah, pretty miserable stuff for him.”
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What is going wrong for Red Bull in 2026?
The opening two races of 2026 have exposed multiple problems for Red Bull. The Milton Keynes outfit are miles off the pace and are struggling to get both cars to the finish.
The RB22 is 10kg overweight, which is costing them dearly compared to their rivals. Being almost 90 seconds down the road from Mercedes highlights just how damaging an issue such as that can be.
Damon Hill thinks Red Bull may have ‘forced’ Verstappen into errors with how difficult the RB22 is to drive. The Dutchman has openly criticised how tough the new cars are to handle with the regulation changes.
Red Bull need to find some answers to their problems and fast if they want to be competitive. As it stands, they are far away from winning races.
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