Red Bull reveals RB22 steering fault behind woes

Red Bull says a fault in the RB22’s steering rack and steering column helped drive its miserable start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, with technical director Pierre Waché revealing that Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were unable to properly feel the car through the steering on top of its broader performance issues.

Waché said the team traced the problem to steering-system components and fixed it early in the season by replacing them, restoring more predictable feedback for both drivers. The change improved what they could sense from the car, but it did not suddenly solve the RB22’s wider weaknesses.

“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,” Waché said. “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.”

That admission helps explain the scale of the complaints Red Bull heard from its drivers from the outset. Verstappen had already described the RB22 as “completely undriveable” from the Barcelona shakedown and 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 was similarly blunt, calling the car “terrible” after Suzuka, then “undriveable” again in Hungary.

The steering fault was only part of the problem. Waché said Red Bull began the year lacking downforce compared with some rivals, and he added that the car’s characteristics still limit what the drivers can do with balance. He pointed specifically to instability on corner entry and mid-corner understeer, issues the team has been trying to reduce through mechanical changes.

Those deeper limitations have remained even after Red Bull introduced a major Miami upgrade package that cut weight and revised the RB22’s aerodynamic concept. Verstappen has still managed four podiums in the last seven rounds, but neither he nor Hadjar has been able to deliver that level of competitiveness consistently from one weekend to the next.