Red Bull told to 'be patient' as F1 struggles continue

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has stated Red Bull must be “patient” as it seeks to develop itself out of its current slump.

A sixth-place result at the season-opening round in Australia remains its best result of the campaign, having followed it up with a duo of runs to eighth in China and Japan.

It currently sits sixth in the constructors' championship, a far cry from its position at the end of 2025 when it was running at the head of the pecking order.

The team has lost various personnel over the last year, with Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase confirmed as the latest departure last week.

Schumacher is confident the Milton Keynes-based squad can get back to a competitive position - but believes it will take some time.

"Red Bull is undergoing a rebuild, which in my view will take two to three years,” Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.

"They need to have a good eye for talent when it comes to signing new people and building a new Red Bull.

"But I believe that Red Bull, as a young, dynamic team, is capable of undertaking such a rebuild a second time.

"They just need to be patient."

Verstappen has already been linked with an exit from the squad amid its latest slump, to join either a rival team or take on a new career adventure in Schumacher.

While it would be a blow to lose Verstappen, Schumacher outlined it would free up a lot of money for Red Bull, "which could certainly be invested in personnel that are urgently needed at the moment”, according to Schumacher.