Red Bull has introduced its final significant upgrade package for the RB22 in Baku. After the opening practice sessions, technical director Waché concluded that the correlation is good and that the package – which includes a new floor and revised sidepods – is doing what was expected of it.
Behind the scenes, the focus has already been on the 2027 challenger for some time, partly because Red Bull has little left to gain in the remaining months of this year, apart from a potential race win.
With the regulations remaining largely stable, however, Red Bull can carry the lessons learned into next season – with Verstappen having already indicated that certain larger changes are not possible with the RB22, but can be implemented for next season.
Although that primarily concerns performance gains and certain design choices, there is another subject high on the priority list: what Verstappen has called "car degradation". The Dutchman has said during several race weekends that certain components at the rear of the RB22 deteriorate over the course of a session or even a race.
The most striking aspect is that Verstappen says he has been complaining about it for years, which is remarkable given the overhaul of the regulations and the fact that the 2026 car is completely new.
Team principal Laurent Mekies has said in response that the problem cannot be fully solved with this year’s car, but that Red Bull has learned several valuable lessons in recent weeks that can be applied next season – partly based on Verstappen’s feedback in Monza.
It is a view Verstappen shares, as he explained when asked about the issue by Motorsport.com in Baku.
"Yeah, it’s work in progress. I mean, we see some things now, like Laurent said. Maybe some of those things cannot be changed for this year, but maybe there’s some good lessons for next year.
"So I feel like we are finally pinpointing areas where we can be better, yeah."
Red Bull is therefore making progress, although Waché laughs when Motorsport.com asks him how confident he is that this problem will be completely resolved in 2027.
"I'm not confident, otherwise I will stop working! You are never confident, even more when you have this type of issue", the Frenchman said.
"Every time, it’s a compromise in our business. You try to maximise the overall car weight, the overall performance of the aero package, it means that things are tight and [at the same time] you don't want to destroy everything to have that.
"We are working on it and we are trying to fix it because it's a massive issue. But to be confident that it will be fully fixed [next year], I am not."
