– Red Bull has significantly reduced the gap to the competition: a new update package, which was used in Miami, has apparently shown effect. This could be mainly related to the overweight of the RB22, which was reduced by about half with the help of the new parts.
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Instead of previously twelve kilograms, the RB22 of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar now only weighs six kilograms over the minimum weight of 768 kilograms. However, this also means that weight reduction remains a central topic in Red Bull’s further development.
“Yes, I think there will be another step,” confirms technical director Pierre Wache. That should make Red Bull even more competitive. “I don’t know when, but we will have another weight reduction, maybe for Austria.”
Red Bull’s update package “delivered” in Miami
In addition to the current weight reduction, Red Bull’s latest update package also included heavily revised sidepods, a new floor, and the fixing of a problem in the steering system. All of this worked well in Miami.
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“Yes, it delivered what we expected,” confirms a satisfied Red Bull technical director to Motorsport.com, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network. “It’s simply the package itself that delivered.”
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“And after we fixed some other issues, that also brought some additional [performance from] Max that we perhaps did not expect.” It is the first real progress for Red Bull in 2026, also compared to McLaren and Ferrari, who also brought large upgrade packages to Florida.
Red Bull brings further updates only in Europe
Mercedes has already hinted at responding with a significant update package in Canada, with Red Bull logically not following immediately. Wache explains that his team will only bring minor changes to Montreal but will mainly focus on development for the European races.
“We still have to wait a bit, just a small step for Montreal,” says the Frenchman, who leaves open whether the further updates at Red Bull are planned for Monaco, Barcelona, or also only for the Austrian Grand Prix.
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The first step is, however, done. “It’s not easy, but I am definitely disappointed with the result. I think the result [in Miami] does not show our pace,” believes Wache. “But it is good for the team to show that the car has pace and that we are back in the midfield.”
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