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Red Bull have not allocated a large enough slice of their cost cap budget to resolve all of the issues with the RB22, without it affecting the development of their 2027 F1 car.
The 2026 F1 season is only three rounds through, but Red Bull have not had the start to the year that the Milton Keynes natives hoped for. Red Bull are just sixth in the F1 constructors’ standings with 16 points, trailing Haas on 18 and Alpine on 16 due to a superior race finish.
Pierre Gasly finished sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix and seventh in the Japanese Grand Prix to place Alpine above Red Bull. Max Verstappen also has one P6 finish to his name from the Australian Grand Prix, but came P8 in Japan. Isack Hadjar took his best result of P8 in China.
Haas and Alpine are taking full advantage of running the Ferrari and Mercedes engines this season respectively, while Red Bull have become a power unit constructor for the first time. Red Bull’s engine is only one part of the puzzle that team boss Laurent Mekies needs to fix.
What do Red Bull need to do to convince Max Verstappen to stay in F1?
Red Bull did not allocate enough of their 2026 cost cap to fix their chassis and aero package
Verstappen called his Red Bull RB22 “undriveable” after qualifying in Japan, as he only came P11 due to his car’s horrendous balance problems. A round earlier, Verstappen called Sprint Qualifying in China a “disaster”, as well, because of Red Bull’s lack of balance in the corners.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies
But Mekies is now facing having to weigh up Red Bull investing in developing a B-spec RB22 or writing off the 2026 campaign already and making 2027 their focus. That is according to SoyMotor, which claims Red Bull view their chassis and aero package as the priorities to fix.
Hadjar described the Red Bull RB22 as being “undriveable” and even “dangerous” in Japan, as he came home in P12. But Mekies faces a tricky decision, as Red Bull have not allocated enough of their cost cap budget to develop the RB22 and resolve all of its flaws this season.
Red Bull allocated funds to develop the RB22 throughout the year, but the early issues that have emerged show more is needed. So, Mekies must decide how much he wants to spend trying to improve the RB22, as the ‘more’ would come from their budget for their 2027 car.
Should Red Bull have given up on the 2025 title to prioritise 2026?
F1 increased the cost cap for the 2026 season, given this season marked the start of a new regulations era with new engine, chassis, aero and tyre rules. The 11 teams can spend up to $215m (£163m) in 2026 on funding their efforts, excluding a few aspects like driver salaries.
Driver wages and the wages of the three highest-paid staff members are two of the aspects omitted from the F1 cost cap, along with marketing and hospitality costs. And on top of the cost cap, Red Bull also need to weigh up how much of their wind tunnel time they will use.
Only McLaren (224) and Mercedes (240) are allowed fewer wind tunnel runs in the first half of 2026 than Red Bull (256), as the allocations are based on their final positions in the 2025 constructors’ standings. Alpine, who finished last in the 2025 standings, can enjoy 368 runs.
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