How Red Bull’s 2025 turnaround will carry over to F1 2026

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The 2025 Formula 1 season did not bring a new world title for Red Bull, but will nonetheless be remembered for Max Verstappen’s remarkable comeback.

The Dutchman said in Abu Dhabi that he felt even better than he had 12 months earlier. This may sound surprising, given he was world champion back then, but at the time he already sensed things going wrong within Red Bull – a trend that continued into the first half of 2025. Verstappen felt it as early as winter testing in Bahrain, where he realised that the RB20’s main weaknesses were still present in its successor.

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Only after the summer break was Red Bull able to turn the tide. It went hand in hand with developing the 2025 challenger for longer than most rivals, but in a select end-of-season roundtable team principal Laurent Mekies made clear it was the only correct choice.

Continuing work on the RB21 did cost time that could have been allocated to the 2026 project, but given the team’s situation, there were no better alternatives, Mekies said.

“I think it became quite obvious to us that we didn't want to simply turn the page and have the wishful thinking that, whilst the 2025 car had not been at the required level to fight for the title, we would then be okay doing so in 2026. We didn't want to go down that route,” the Frenchman explained.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Team Principal

“We wanted to go down the route to get to the bottom of the 2025 project first. We needed to understand why it was not performing, because fundamentally we'll be using the same tools, the same processes and the same methodologies next year.”

That choice did come at a cost, but according to the French team principal, it was worth it regardless: “And yes, we may have lost some time in doing so, but we didn't want to go for the wishful thinking route. So, to come back to the point, was it a difficult decision? No, it's something we have been very, very convinced of very early on.”

According to Mekies, the 2025 turnaround is valuable for the upcoming season in several ways. Validating the work methods and tools was by far the most important aspect, but even more specific knowledge can still be applied, despite the major overhaul in technical regulations.

“Of course there is a huge amount of learning. First on the methodologies – what do you need to make the car faster, and what do you do to go around the given limitations? Then the learning about the tyres, the correlation of your tools, where you think it's right to add performance. So the common areas are huge, even with the completely different regulations.”

A much-needed confidence boost for the technical team

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

In addition, the turnaround has also been significant mentally, especially for the technical department.

“If we stay on the human aspect for once, then I think it has certainly put the group even more together, and that gives us the right approach, the right vibe and the right energy for next year,” Mekies added. “Does it make us feel that the car is going to be faster or slower than the opposition? No, honestly, not.

“But I think as a group, in the way we operate, and in the way we accept the challenges and move forward, this is helpful. It's certainly giving us a lot of confirmation about the quality of our people and of our approach.”

That applies in particular to the team led by Pierre Wache. Red Bull struggled from mid-2024 to September 2025, meaning the turnaround gives the squad confidence that it can at least overcome a difficult situation – regardless of the change in regulations.

“For sure, it's a huge boost for the technical department to see the car performance at the end of such a season,” Mekies pointed out. “And yes, it gives the people confidence. We already had that confidence in our people because we feel that we have the best talent. But this gives confidence into the methodologies, into the tools, into the KPIs that you are using, and yeah, we think that has been the most important aspect of this year.”