Has Red Bull underdelivered in start of critical new chapter?

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has not held back in his assessment of Red Bull's difficult 2026 campaign, questioning why a team of their stature has repeatedly stumbled on the basics.

Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, Smedley was direct in his criticism. "Red Bull should be just doing so much better," he said. "Like, they've had too many basic problems, like Max says, there's a different problem every weekend or something like that."

It has, by any measure, been a trying season for Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based outfit entered 2026 facing arguably the steepest challenge in their history, becoming their own engine supplier for the first time after parting ways with Honda's intellectual involvement. 

Getting a new power unit competitive from scratch is a monumental undertaking, and the early evidence suggests the RB22 has paid a price for it.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has found himself fighting the car as much as his rivals, while Isack Hadjar has made steady progress in the right direction. 

Podiums have been claimed by Verstappen, although it has required either an exceptional level of driving or issues for rivals.

The combination of an unproven engine programme and a car that has lacked reliability and pace has left Red Bull some distance from the front-running form that defined their dominance in recent years.

With Smedley's words echoing the frustration felt by many observers, the question now is whether the team's troubles are simply growing pains or something more systemic.

Should Red Bull be doing better this season?

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