Red Bull are ‘smiling’ as Miami Grand Prix upgrades ‘halved’ weight issues with Max Verstappen’s car

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Red Bull staff are reportedly smiling again inside the F1 paddock after ‘halving’ the excess weight of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar’s RB22 through a ‘massive’ upgrade package at the Miami Grand Prix.

Following a challenging first couple of rounds in the 2026 F1 season, the RB22’s weight issues looked as though they may have ruled Max Verstappen out of any Grand Prix win conversations this year.

The car was reported to be over 10kg overweight, and Red Bull had concerns over whether they would be able to shed the extra load by the time F1’s summer break rolls around in July.

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However, the Austrian constructor’s upgrade package for the Miami Grand Prix seems to have got the things moving in that regard, and Verstappen seemed to be a much happier figure during his media duties after Sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon.

The Dutchman claimed a P5 grid slot for Saturday’s Sprint and detailed his satisfaction with the step that Red Bull took during the five-week break. However, he also noted that there is plenty of work still to be done.

• READ MORE: Isack Hadjar is now asking himself the same question as Max Verstappen’s former Red Bull teammates

Red Bull are now ‘smiling’ again after halving the excess weight on the RB22

In the lead-up to F1’s return to action at Miami, team boss Laurent Mekies predicted Verstappen to start smiling again after getting behind the wheel of the RB22’s updated configuration for the upcoming race weekend.

The Frenchman certainly wasn’t wrong. In a report from Motorsport Netherlands inside the F1 paddock, journalist Ronald Vording highlighted the rosy atmosphere within the Red Bull garages.

He began by highlighting Ferrari’s disappointment with not claiming pole position in the Sprint shootout, before saying, “In any case, there are still predominantly smiling faces at Ferrari. And to a certain extent, that goes for Red Bull too.”

The Dutch reporter then outlined the extent of Red Bull’s work over the enforced break, adding, “Red Bull have already announced they’ve brought a massive package here.

“Part of that involves reducing the weight surplus, which has actually been halved here in Miami.”

Weight reduction is currently Red Bull’s main focus, with impressive work from Red Bull Powertrains’ engineers indicating they already have a strong power unit on their side.

10kg usually affects an F1 car by around three to four tenths per lap, so any further improvement in this area could be an extra step in the right direction for Red Bull to find their way back to the top of the pecking order.

• READ MORE: Laurent Mekies ‘completely’ agrees with Toto Wolff’s ADUO verdict despite Red Bull’s 2026 struggles

Red Bull have also denied taking ‘inspiration’ from Ferrari with new Macarena wing

Vording also touched upon another new development that Red Bull have brought to Miami. The Austrian constructor turned heads upon their arrival in Florida after unveiling a Ferrari-esque Macarena wing for their RB22.

However, the journalist highlighted how the Milton Keynes-based engineers didn’t take inspiration from Ferrari after revealing that they were in conversation with the FIA about it last year.

He said, “When I walked around that car in the pit lane, I went straight back into the paddock to the team and said perhaps they had drawn some inspiration from Ferrari. But then Red Bull said no, because we’d already discussed this with the FIA last year.

“That was, incidentally, a bit after Ferrari had discussed it with the FIA. But Red Bull said that was our own concept. We’d worked hard on it for months. We couldn’t get it finished in time for Australia, China and Japan, but here it is.”