Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok has praised Red Bull for “going out on a limb” with it’s “funky” RB22 Formula 1 design despite losing out on Adrian Newey’s services.
The Milton-Keynes-based outfit has entered F1’s latest era as a works team for the first-time ever in its history.
The RB22 is going to be powered by the DM-01 engine – named after late co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, and developed in collaboration with Ford.
But while what’s under the hood of the RB22 is an impressive feat, given the development and resources that have gone into it, it’s what’s on the exterior of Red Bull’s 2026 challenger that has caught Chandhok’s eye.
The former F1 driver was “fascinated” by the design approach the team has taken in terms of its aerodynamic package during the private shakedown being held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, this week.
Newey-less Red Bull a fascinating prospect for F1 2026
After leading the team to six Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ titles since its inception in 2005, Newey, considered as the greatest designer of the modern era of the sport, left for Aston Martin mid-way the 2024 campaign.
Red Bull also lost two further key leading figures in this interval; Christian Horner was sacked in July last year with Helmut Marko calling it quits on his time in the paddock at the conclusion of the 2025 season – thus, bringing an end to Red Bull’s ‘first triumvirate’.
For all intents and purposes, the team has embarked on arguably its most ambitious project yet without what Chandhok calls them; the ‘architects’ of the project.
“The architects of the current technical situation, in terms of being their own engine manufacturer, are gone,” he told Sky Sports F1. “That was a decision made by Adrian Newey, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. All gone!
“So now, Laurent Mekies and Ben Hodgkinson have had to pick up the reins and run with it. And this is a whole new era for Pierre Waché. He doesn’t have the big halo of the great mind of Adrian Newey above him. He’s in charge of it, and the buck stops with him.”
Chandhok praises Red Bull’s ‘exotic’ RB22
Heading into the latest regulations overhaul, there was trepidation with respect to Red Bull’s chances given it had lost out on Newey’s services.
Yet, from first impressions, the RB22 is seemingly holding its own ground. The chassis and power unit seem to be in-sync, with both, Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen registering a solid haul of mileage under their belts in Barcelona so far.
In fact, the duo had also led the unofficial timing charts at some points during the opening two days of running. From an engineering standpoint, this cannot be considered a mean feat.
From the outside, it appears that the team, under the stewardship of Laurent Mekies, has bounced back from the resounding slump that was the opening half of 2025.
And the Indian-born driver believes that this momentum has nudged the team towards a bold approach to the latest rule-set.
“You have to say, the second half of last year, they would have breathed a sigh of relief, because after a shaky 12 months, they got back on track,” he added.
“That would have given them confidence to do exotic things this year, because it means their correlation is back on track, and what they’re seeing on the CFD and in the wind tunnel is translating to on-track performance, which they started to get in the second half of the year.
“They didn’t have that, really, from the middle of ’24. So I’m pleased to see they’re going out on a limb and still doing funky bits on the car.”
READ MORE – Exclusive: Ex-Red Bull driver predicts post-Helmut Marko ‘change’
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