Max Verstappen has been dealt a possible boost to his reinvigorated Formula 1 title challenge as Red Bull has confirmed a further upgrade to its RB21 challenger.
The Dutchman has got himself back into contention from the Drivers’ Championship, albeit still as an outsider, with scinillating wins in Monza and Baku.
And with a second-place finish in Singapore ahead of the title-leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, Verstappen inched another small amount into the pair’s advantage.
Verstappen’s newfound form has been largely down to the improvements shown in the RB21, a car that has proved to be a handful across most of 2025.
But Technical Director Pierre Wache has revealed that whilst there will not be anything new implemented onto the car for next weekend’s United States Grand Prix, there will be before the end of the campaign,
“We will have other stuff coming,” he told RacingNews365. “Not the next Grand Prix, maybe a little bit later.”
Wache also said that whilst McLaren have sewn up the Constructors’ crown for the second year running, finishing second ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes is a top priority.
“Clearly, the Constructors’ Championship is not finished for us. It’s very important,” he said.
“With the philosophy of this team, with every race we participate in this championship, we never give anything away.”
Wache reveals Red Bull methods for late development with 2026 on the horizon
Upgrades to teams’ cars have slowed drastically since the resumption of F1 since its summer break, due to the development carried out on their respective cars for 2026.
Wache, when asked why the Milton Keynes-based squad has continued to work on its current car, he said: “We compromised a little bit at the beginning of the year.
“But with the way we work, every time it’s like that. We’re a little late in development, a little late finalising the next car. It’s the way our system works, and we take the benefit of it this year.
“We are maybe a little different to others in the way we work, but we have very good capacity internally in terms of manufacturing. It’s what we are good at.”
This might naturally cause a distraction from the 2026 car, which is perhaps an even greater task than usual, given the new technical regulations that will be adhered to, as well as its first-ever in-house engine project, in collaboration with Ford.
But Wache, when asked if it will cause an issue with 2026 development, he replied: “I don’t think so.
“Just to make clear, what we have now and what we have a little bit later are developed a long time in advance. It’s not like from yesterday.”
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