Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen admits that Red Bull is still “nowhere where they want to be” despite a P4 finish in Barcelona.
The 2026 season has been a fairly quiet one for Verstappen and Red Bull, as the duo has struggled to sustain a challenge on their rivals at the front of the field. This was no different in Barcelona, when the Dutchman finished the race in fourth. Despite the high position, Verstappen was unable to challenge the Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren drivers ahead of him. However, his pace was strong enough to build a gap to the rest of the field.
Seemingly, the story of the team’s season thus far. When reflecting on the race, the 28-year-old highlighted that the team’s current position in the competitive order remains clear.
“It’s clear that we’re still behind Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren,” Verstappen mentioned after the race.
“Because I basically finished behind each one of them. So we’re still, I think, P4 as a team, maybe a little bit better, but it’s still not where, of course, we want to be. It’s a work in progress. I hope very soon that we can pick up a little bit more in performance.”
The fourth-place finish continues a difficult run for Red Bull. Last year, Verstappen had already claimed two race victories and was continually challenging the McLaren duo. But a Canada podium remains the Red Bull driver’s only top-three finish of the season.
Despite key front-wing upgrades for Barcelona, changes were modest compared to the larger development packages brought by several rivals. Verstappen believes continued upgrades will be key if the team is to close the gap.
“In general it’s just bringing more upgrades and better performance, which is what we are working on,” he explained.
“Whoever brings upgrades will make a jump. It just depends on who is always bringing the biggest one.”
Laurent Mekies believes Barcelona exposed Red Bull’s weaknesses
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies echoed his driver’s statements, describing last weekend as a crucial “reality check.” Following encouraging performances on circuits such as Monaco, the team needed to remember they remained a far way from their rivals.
“I think we were expecting that reality check in Barcelona,” Mekies said.
“First track with a long straight, the mid-speed, high-speed corners. It’s probably the first time after China and Japan where we come back to this sort of track. So we are expecting certainly a different performance compared to Monaco, where we could suddenly fight for pole.”
While Mekies acknowledged Red Bull has made progress compared to the start of the season, he believes the team still lacks several tenths needed to consistently challenge for victories.
“I think this weekend confirms, because what we are talking about is three or four tenths from pole, or three or four tenths from what you need to do to fight for the win, and that was certainly a very different picture at the beginning of the year on this sort of track.
“There is still a gap, no doubt, PU side, chassis side, and that’s what we need to fight for next.”
Rather than a single area of improvement, the Frenchman believes that the team’s weaknesses are spread out across several areas.
“It’s not about one single thing anymore, it’s about finding a little bit of performance in a mid-speed corner, in high speed corner, on the straight line.”
This much-needed indicator of the RB22’2 true pace this season should provide the workings for several crucial upgrade packages across the coming rounds. All of which is aiming to bring Red Bull back to fighting at the front of the field.
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