After three races of 2026, Red Bull sits well adrift of the frontrunners. Team voices point to the RB22’s chassis and aerodynamics as the cause, not the new power unit. The team has 16 points and is sixth in the Constructors’ standings. That is its worst three-race start since 2015. The best finish so far is sixth in Australia, with mixed results in China and Japan and early DNFs also hurting the total.
Inside the camp, the verdict is blunt. Isack Hadjar called the chassis “terrible” and said the engine is not to blame for the lack of pace. Team leadership echoed that view. Laurent Mekies described a “lack of base performance” and stressed this is not a simple setup miss. He pointed to intrinsic balance issues and core car characteristics that are limiting the RB22 across conditions and fuel loads. The feedback paints a picture of a car that is hard to unlock even when the team chases different directions.
The wider competitive picture underlines the task ahead. Mekies estimates the RB22 is about one second per lap behind Mercedes. He puts the gap to Ferrari at around half a second. McLaren is now closing in, which leaves Red Bull effectively a distant fourth on raw pace. That spread has shown up in both qualifying and race stints, where the car cannot live with the speed of the teams ahead and struggles to convert strategy into results.
Red Bull plans a focused response. Mekies said the organization is built to find and fix complex limitations, and he set out a plan that centers on deep data work and simulator correlation. The group will use the break to test targeted developments that address the car’s balance and aero map rather than chase short-term setup band-aids. The aim is to bring upgrades that move the baseline of the RB22, not just its operating window.
There is public confidence that this path can restore form. Mekies expects the first steps of the update plan to arrive by the upcoming races, with Miami marked as a near-term target for parts. The message from inside the team is that the power unit is not the issue. The gains must come from the chassis and airflow package, and from giving the drivers a platform that is stable and predictable. Until those pieces land, Red Bull accepts it will remain off the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari and under pressure from McLaren.