Why Red Bull might ‘sacrifice’ next year’s car to focus on 2026 due to ‘incredibly problematic’ issue

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Red Bull Racing look set to celebrate another title this season as they complete their 20th season in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen has proven that he’s among Formula 1’s greatest-ever drivers by steering his Red Bull to a fourth consecutive title.

Verstappen starred at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and ended any hopes Lando Norris had of overturning his lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

What makes Verstappen’s achievement even more impressive is the fact that Red Bull have been overtaken in the development race by McLaren and Ferrari this year.

The Dutchman went on a 10-race streak without winning before his victory in Brazil, with both Ferrari and McLaren standing on the top step of the podium in that time.

Sergio Perez has had another difficult campaign, although Red Bull later apologised to Perez for not listening to his concerns about the RB20 earlier.

However, while Red Bull’s most recent update package in Austin has improved the car, whether the team are willing to invest heavily in next year’s car is an important question.

Journalist and technical expert Matthew Somerfield was speaking on the Missed Apex Podcast about Red Bull’s predicament.

Why Red Bull might ‘sacrifice’ next year’s car ahead of the 2026 regulation changes

Next season is the final year of the current ruleset before significant changes are made for 2026.

Teams will have to decide when to begin committing more resources to the newer car, with teams further down the pecking order likely to abandon their 2025 machine in the hopes that their fortunes will change the following year.

Talking about Red Bull’s upcoming decision, Somerfield said: “I think that we will probably see an interim version of the RB20 from Red Bull next season in as much as that they won’t change everything.

“I think they’ll have learned what they’ve learned from this year and they’ll have applied it to what they already know and they will come up with something that’s somewhere in between the two.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

“However, because of 2026, because of the rule change, that will be weighing on their mind as well in terms of how much development you throw at that next year’s car. And do you simply sacrifice next year to win 2026?

“This is always the thing of a regulation change and it’s what I’m saying earlier that they’re very interesting from an on-track point of view, but from a technical standpoint because of the difference between two regulation sets and the ability to run two parallel development streams.

“Whilst you’ve got a budget cap and whilst you’ve got resource restrictions, it becomes incredibly problematic.”

Red Bull building their first ever power unit for the 2026 Formula 1 season

The 2025 season will be the last year where Red Bull and Honda work together before the Japanese power unit manufacturer begins an exclusive partnership with Aston Martin.

It means Red Bull – working alongside Ford – are already developing the first Red Bull Powertrains engine in time for 2026.

READ MORE: What the Formula 1 paddock is saying about Red Bull Powertrains ahead of 2026 debut

Martin Brundle has been left impressed by the Red Bull Powertrains facility on a visit to the factory this year.

Alpine announced on Tuesday that they will begin using Mercedes power units from 2026, reducing the spectrum of different engines on the grid, even if Red Bull and newcomers Audi are introducing their own designs.

Only time will tell who comes out on top in the development war, making pre-season testing in less than 18 months even more exciting.