Red Bull wary of the penalty to fix cause of Max Verstappen’s ‘completely broken’ RB22 outburst

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull know they have a big issue due to the RB22 being disproportionately prone to losing performance, which drew Max Verstappen’s anger at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Verstappen on paper matched his best result of the season so far on Sunday, as he took P2 on the outskirts of Budapest. But the four-time F1 champion needed a lot to work out in his favour at the Hungaroring – including Oscar Piastri retiring while he was fighting for the win.

Red Bull also benefitted from Ferrari shooting themselves in the foot, with Lewis Hamilton’s initial grid penalty for impeding Piastri during qualifying and the Scuderia’s strategy proving to be ill-conceived. Verstappen also finished the Hungarian GP with a 3.648-second margin over Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli in third as the Italian recovered from his grid penalty.

Red Bull are wary of the weight penalty to fix their aero degradation that riled Max Verstappen

However, Red Bull’s highs brought by Verstappen’s late-braking overtake on Hamilton in the Hungarian GP did not hide the RB22’s glaring issues. Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar spent most of the weekend bemoaning Red Bull’s car, and the team know a fix is not simple.

READ MORE: Lando Norris wins the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix after Oscar Piastri retires

Verstappen bemoaned Red Bull’s “undrivable” car during qualifying in Hungary, with the 28-year-old even lamenting how it became “worse and worse” throughout the session and that the RB22 was “completely broken” aerodynamically en route to finishing sixth in the Q3 list.

According to The Race, Red Bull’s issue is that the RB22 is prone to aero degradation, as the car’s balance and feel are easily affected by changes to the airflow. Part of Verstappen’s woe was caused by an aggressive kerb strike, for example, as his car’s airflow was out of sync.

Red Bull now know that they may have to spend time during the summer break assembling new parts that are stronger than those used at the Hungarian GP. But Red Bull are wary that building stronger parts would then carry a weight penalty that can hurt their performance.

An alternative solution would be for Red Bull to change the RB22’s aero mapping so that the car has a wider operating window, and thus is less susceptible to aero degradation affecting the car’s performance. But it would be a far bigger job than Red Bull creating stronger parts.

Here’s how the F1 championship looks at the summer break. Predict the top five at the end of the season 👇

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

The changes that Red Bull made under parc ferme conditions after qualifying were also only a temporary fix that did not prevent more complaints from Verstappen in the Hungarian GP.

Martin Brundle regularly heard Verstappen complaining about the handling of Red Bull’s car during last Sunday’s Hungarian GP. He was even informed after the race that Red Bull’s aero degradation woes are especially problematic whenever the underside of the car is damaged.

“Max Verstappen spent much of the race complaining about aerodynamic degradation, poor handling and inconsistent gear shifting with his Red Bull, but would finish in a fine second place after some impressive overtakes on Hamilton’s Ferrari,” Brundle told Sky Sports. “Max thought Lewis was a bit tough on him in the braking zone, but he wasn’t.

“It was explained to me that if the Red Bull has any damage on the aero parts, particularly underneath the car, on an aggressive kerb for example, this has a disproportionate effect on the overall downforce and so grip. Hence Max’s aero degradation comment.”

Verstappen will have to hope that Red Bull can discover a more permanent solution for their aero degradation during the four-week summer break, in which every team must close their factories for two, full weeks. The next stop on the F1 calendar is Verstappen’s home race, as well, in what is also confirmed as being the last Dutch Grand Prix for the foreseeable future.