Red Bull pinpoint dual reason for slow start to F1 season

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché has pointed to two factors behind the team's sluggish opening to the 2026 campaign.

The Frenchman highlighted that rival F1 teams simply did a better job over the winter, as well as conceding it is partly a consequence of Max Verstappen fighting for the drivers' championship until the very last race of 2025.

The RB22 arrived in Melbourne roughly a second off the pace of frontrunners Mercedes and Ferrari. The overall package, including its fledgling power unit, was plagued by reliability issues that resulted in two DNFs across the first three rounds.

Verstappen's sixth place at Albert Park was the team's best result in that dismal opening stretch, which yielded just 16 points.

Since then, a major aerodynamic and weight-reduction upgrade introduced at the Miami Grand Prix has roughly halved the deficit to the leaders, with the Dutchman qualifying on the front row for that race and scoring consistently in the points thereafter.

Red Bull now sit fourth in the constructors' standings on 177 points, still well adrift of Mercedes on 379 and Ferrari on 307.

Despite that, the four-time F1 drivers' champion has been keen to stress that Red Bull is on the up, underlining the positive trajectory since the beginning of the year.

When asked about Verstappen's assessment of the team's recent momentum, Waché acknowledged the progress while admitting there is still plenty of ground to cover.

"Yes, some positives," Waché told media, including RacingNews365. "I think the main aspect is that we started behind and, for sure, we have progressed.

"I think it's a very good job from the team to progress and to arrive where we are. We still aren't where we would like to be, but you try to do your best, try to understand what is not working and what you can do better, and after that you see where you are. But the main thing is that the progress was interesting as a team."

Aside from the impressive work by Mercedes and Ferrari during the off-season, the thrilling three-way title fight between Verstappen and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — which went all the way to the finale in Abu Dhabi, where the Briton ultimately sealed the crown by just two points — has left the two respective teams on the back foot.

Like McLaren, that fight demanded Red Bull continue developing its 2025 car deep into the second half of the year, inevitably eating into preparation time for the new regulations.

"It's difficult to say," the Waché added when asked whether some of the deficit was due to Red Bull developing so late into last year. "At the end, I think some others just did a very good job.

"For sure, we fought until the end, and like the other team, McLaren, I think we are a little bit behind, both of us, based on what we did last year."