Red Bull reveal unusual early issue with RB22

Red Bull's RB22 has been a handful for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar all season, but a hidden mechanical problem compounded their difficulties in the opening rounds, with the drivers unable to properly feel the car through the steering.

Technical director Pierre Waché has reiterated the RB22 was plagued by "mechanical gremlins" at the start of the 2026 campaign, a subtle steering system defect that left both drivers without confidence in the front end and disconnected from what the car was doing beneath them.

Verstappen flagged the issue from as early as the Barcelona shakedown, repeatedly describing the car as "completely undrivable" through the first three rounds. In China, he said he could not "even put a bit of a reference in" and that "every lap is like survival."

Hadjar, too, was openly critical, calling the chassis "terrible" after Suzuka and noting that "lap by lap, session by session, you always have to guess what you're going to get."

Red Bull ultimately traced the problem to the steering rack and column, replacing the components entirely. Though the fix did not transform the car's outright pace, it restored a degree of feel that had been conspicuously absent.

Even with the steering issue resolved and a major upgrade package delivered in Miami, which trimmed significant weight and overhauled the aerodynamic concept, the RB22 remains an inconsistent machine.

Verstappen has scored four podiums in the past seven rounds, yet neither driver has been able to extract reliable, repeatable performance from the car weekend to weekend.

Hadjar summed up his frustration in Hungary, describing the RB22 as "undriveable" and sarcastically labelling the team's trajectory a "good step back."

Waché was asked directly whether there had been any negative surprises since the RB22 first ran.

"I think, as with every racing car, you see some limitations in how the driver can use the car and the load of it," Waché told media, including RacingNews365. "The characteristics limit what you can do in terms of balance and trying to rebalance the car.

"Clearly, we have some limitations, like every racing car, in terms of stability on entry and mid-corner understeer, and we try to avoid those aspects by using some mechanical tools to achieve it.

"Regarding the issue with the car at the beginning, clearly we were missing some load compared to some others," he added.

"We also had some mechanical gremlins on the car, which meant the driver didn't feel the car through the steering, and we corrected that at the beginning.

"It took a little bit of time, but it was on top of the overall performance and potential of the car. We had some issues with driver feeling there. It's not a secret."