Red Bull detail F1 hangover effect as important car decision made

Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has suggested the team is "paying the price" for its late 2025 F1 title surge in 2026, as he confirmed the direction the team would take for 2027. 

Last season, Max Verstappen launched a late bid for the drivers' championship, coming from over 100 points behind after the Dutch Grand Prix to fall just two points short of claiming a fifth straight title as Lando Norris seized his crown. 

Unlike McLaren, Red Bull continued to develop its late 2025 car to aid the Dutch driver's push, with McLaren switching attention onto the all-new 2026 machines through the change in regulations. 

For Red Bull, it has often been third or fourth best across the first half of the season behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren, although a raft of big upgrades just before the summer break brought the team closer into the fight, and it is 43 points behind McLaren in the fight for third in the constructors'. 

Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Mekies has explained how the team is intending to switch off the 2026 development taps earlier than it did in '25 to aid the design and build of the RB23 machine of '27. 

"We’re in a completely different situation to last year, when we were in the thick of a race to catch up and were in contention for the title right until the end," Mekies told de Telegraaf.

"So you won’t see us pushing as hard this season as we did back then. 

"After the summer break, most of our attention will shift to next year’s car; I think that’s perfectly normal.

"There will still be updates this year, but fewer than we introduced in 2025.

"Only time will tell whether we can close the gap quickly. And the situation is different from last year, because we’ll be focusing on the future sooner.

"At some point we have to decide on the balance between this year and next year. I hope that decision will be made earlier than last year.

"Does the time and energy we invested in that late push last year affect where you start in 2026? Of course. We pay a bit of a price for that today. Do we use it as an excuse? No."