ONE LAST BIG UPGRADE: RED BULL STILL HAS A 2026 WIN TO CHASE

Red Bull’s final significant 2026 upgrade arrives in Baku as most development resources move toward 2027—but the team still considers its first win of the season an important target.

Red Bull has reached the point where two seasons must be developed at once.

Its largest remaining changes to the RB22 have arrived in Baku, but most of the team’s development resources are already focused on the 2027 car. That shift does not mean Red Bull has abandoned 2026. Laurent Mekies says the team is still chasing its first Grand Prix victory of the season, even as the window for finding major performance gains begins to close.

THE LAST SIGNIFICANT PACKAGE

Red Bull’s Baku upgrade touches five areas of the car, according to the team’s submission to the FIA.

The central change is a revised floor and diffuser designed to generate more aerodynamic load while keeping the airflow stable. In simple terms, Red Bull is looking for more downforce without making the car less predictable as its speed, ride height and balance change.

The sidepod’s connection to the floor has also been revised to support the new floor geometry. Changes to the mirrors and halo fairing are intended to improve the airflow reaching components farther back on the car, while the cooling louvres have been adapted to fit the revised bodywork.

Neither driver has been left waiting. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both have the new specification available in Baku.

Mekies described it as “most probably our last significant package” of the season. That wording matters. Red Bull can still make smaller changes, adjust the car for individual circuits and continue learning from the RB22. What is ending is the flow of major new hardware.

THE TARGET RED BULL HAS NOT ABANDONED

The resource shift toward 2027 is substantial. Mekies said a “very large majority” of the team’s development effort is now directed at next year’s car.

Even so, he made Red Bull’s remaining 2026 objective clear: the team is “still chasing our first win.”

That target is not disconnected from its recent form. Verstappen has finished on the podium in five of the last seven Grands Prix, including the two most recent weekends at Monza and Madrid. Red Bull has moved closer to the front, but Mekies does not believe it has produced the fastest car at any of those races.

The remaining gap may only be two or three tenths of a second, but that final margin is often the hardest to find. In a tightly packed leading group, it can separate a challenge for pole from a place several rows farther back.

The Baku package is therefore not being presented as a guaranteed breakthrough. It is Red Bull’s last major attempt to move the RB22 closer to the fastest cars while there are still races—and a win—available.

WHAT AN UPGRADE CANNOT FIX IMMEDIATELY

Red Bull is also working through a more complicated problem that may extend beyond this season.

Verstappen has repeatedly described the car losing performance as sessions or races progress. Mekies has acknowledged that some elements of the car do not remain at their optimum level, but Red Bull has not publicly identified the precise cause.

That distinction is important. The problem should not be reduced to one mechanical fault or automatically connected to every handling complaint. It is a broader performance issue that the team is still trying to understand.

Red Bull made progress with its understanding at Monza and Madrid, but Mekies indicated that a complete solution could take the team into 2027. The Baku upgrade may contribute useful information, but it has not been presented as a complete cure.

WHY THE REMAINING RACES STILL MATTER

The move toward 2027 is not a clean break because next season’s regulations contain relatively limited changes. What Red Bull learns from the RB22 can therefore influence the car that follows it.

Every remaining weekend provides information about the floor, airflow stability, setup sensitivity and the way the car’s performance changes over a session. That makes the final races valuable even if no further major package appears.

Baku represents both an ending and a test. It is the final significant upgrade of Red Bull’s 2026 campaign, but also the beginning of the evaluation that will shape next year’s car.

Red Bull has turned most of its attention toward 2027. It still has unfinished business in 2026.