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Pierre Waché

Red Bull confirm problem with 2026 F1 car

The Red Bull RB22, like many of its rivals, has excess weight to shed ahead of the 2026 F1 season getting underway, according to technical director Pierre Wache.

Verstappen Day 3 Bahrain Morning
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To news overview © Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has confirmed the team has "some challenges with the weight" of the RB22 ahead of the new F1 season getting underway.

However, the Frenchman was quick to add that struggling to get their car to the minimum weight permitted by the revamped regulations will be "the case for everybody" up and down the pit lane.

The FIA has reduced the weight limit of F1 cars from 798kg to 768kg since last season, which has posed a tough engineering task for the teams.

With every additional kilogram meaning added — and potentially unnecessary — lap time, there is always a weight war, particularly when cars are in their infancy.

The Williams FW48 and the Mercedes W17 are believed to be around four kilograms overweight, but what is the situation at Red Bull?

Reflecting on the situation with the Milton Keynes-based squad's car, which was the surprise package during the first official pre-season test in Bahrain, Wache told media, including RacingNews365: "Like everybody after winter, we're trying to reduce the weight."

When the rulebook last changed, ahead of the 2022 campaign, Red Bull initially found its car compromisingly overweight.

It was, nevertheless, immediately competitive, but once the team was able to shed the excess baggage, it dominated the field, with Max Verstappen ultimately easing to his second F1 drivers' championship.

Fast-forward four years, and teams have faced with ungoing that same process all over again.

The Williams FW48 and the Mercedes W17 are believed to be around four kilograms overweight, but what is the situation at Red Bull?

When asked if the team was in a comparable position to the last time the regulations reset, Wache responded: "Yeah, we are.

"We have some challenges with the weight — it's the case for everybody.

"Maybe some people did a better job than us, but on our side, we will have to find some weight on the car. But our philosophy every time is to try and make a car quicker, not on the weight limit or whatever,

"But it is a better position than in 2022..."

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