Still searching for his first victory in 2026, Max Verstappen expects more performance from Red Bull, but above all more consistency.
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The first half of the 2026 season has not lived up to the ambitions of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. After eleven Grands Prix, the four-time world champion has yet to win a single race and is only sixth in the drivers’ championship.
Some encouraging signs have nevertheless appeared before the summer break. Verstappen secured his fourth podium of the season in the last race, confirming the progress made by Red Bull since a particularly difficult start to the year.
However, this is not enough for the Dutchman. In his eyes, regaining pure performance is obviously a necessity, but solving the problems that regularly disrupt the team’s weekends is just as important.
“We must first find more performance”
Red Bull has gradually reduced its gap to the leading teams over the races. However, the RB22 remains too inconsistent to allow Verstappen to consistently fight for victory.
The Dutchman therefore believes the priority is clear for the resumption of the championship.
“We must first find more overall performance”, explains Verstappen. “Then, we need to solve our problems, because sometimes we lose performance during a weekend, or even between the start and the end of a race.”
“So that is also a big priority.”
This inconsistency has been one of Red Bull’s main problems since the start of the year. Even when the car seems competitive at certain moments during a weekend, the team still struggles to maintain that level of performance until the checkered flag.
Verstappen makes a harsh assessment of his season
Asked to review his first eleven Grands Prix, Verstappen does not try to hide the difficulties encountered. Despite some podiums and several encouraging performances, he considers this first part of the season particularly challenging.
“Overall, it has been very difficult”, he admits. “There have been some good moments, some bright spots, I suppose, but overall, it has been tough.”
For the second part of the championship, the Red Bull driver primarily wants to rely on a more versatile car and much more consistent weekends.
“I think we need to try to be more solid, more complete, to have simpler weekends. And we need to find more performance. In the end, it’s as simple as that.”
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But the Dutchman insists: gaining speed will not be enough if Red Bull continues to regularly face difficulties with its current package.
“In addition to finding more performance, we also need to avoid the problems we are currently experiencing with the car.”
Red Bull soon forced to make a choice
The situation is all the more delicate because Red Bull cannot indefinitely continue developing the RB22. The team must also devote its resources to preparing for the next season, and Laurent Mekies acknowledges that a decision will soon have to be made.
“At some point, we will have to make a decision regarding the balance between this season and the next”, explains the Red Bull director. “I expect this to happen earlier than last year, especially due to the regulations.”
Since the first Grand Prix of the season, Red Bull has nevertheless made significant efforts to close its initial gap. Numerous upgrades have been made to the car to allow Verstappen and Isack Hadjar to gradually catch up with the leading teams.
“We have brought a lot of developments to the car between the first race and today to try to correct as quickly as possible the significant delay we initially had”, Mekies continues.
A development pace difficult to maintain
The progress is visible, but the French official warns that Red Bull will probably not be able to continue introducing new parts with the same intensity until the end of the season.
“It is probably hard to imagine that we can maintain this pace, but we still have to determine the best way to approach the last weekends.”
Red Bull thus faces a dilemma: continue its efforts on the RB22 to try to offer Verstappen a first win this season or gradually redirect its resources towards the next car.
For Verstappen, the immediate goal remains clear: more performance, fewer problems, and above all a car consistent enough to allow him to regularly fight at the front.
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