Max Verstappen believes Red Bull to have the fourth-fastest car after Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix result prompts him to call the RB22 a “work in progress”.
Verstappen took the chequered flag at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in fourth, last Sunday.
Sandwiching the McLaren drivers, the Dutchman ran a pretty lonely race, never really bothering Lando Norris in third, and miles clear of Oscar Piastri back in fifth.
Looking back on the race, Verstappen conceded that the result was the maximum he could have achieved with the car he had.
“Yeah, we were just a little bit off,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“The strategy, that was good. I had the right tyres, actually, because for me, the hard tyres didn’t feel good.”
Once a staple of F1 pre-season testing, Barcelona is considered to be a true indicator of a car’s strengths and weaknesses given its range of slow, medium and fast corners.
When asked if the RB22 was essentially exposed at the track, Verstappen concurred, adding that as things stand the Milton-Keynes-based team were probably only the fourth-fastest package.
“I think for sure that in high speed, that was [evident] even in qualifying,” he added.
“It’s just high-energy tracks, high-deg tracks, that’s just where we seem to lack still.
“I think in general, we’re just the fourth fastest team. It won’t change the outcome of any of the tracks unless we bring performance. Because we are not going to change it by just changing the setup.”
RB22 still a “work in progress” – Max Verstappen after F1 Barcelona GP
Seven rounds into the 2026 campaign, Verstappen only has a solitary podium to his name.
Notwithstanding his P3 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the four-time F1 World Champion has generally struggled for both, one-lap and race pace in the RB22.
On the other hand, rivals like Ferrari have made crucial strides with their packages – with the Maranello-based squad’s upgraded SF-26 securing Lewis Hamilton his maiden Ferrari win at Barcelona.
“Whoever brings upgrades will make a jump. It just depends always who is bringing the biggest one,” Verstappen emphasised.
“It’s clear that I think we are still behind the Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren, because we finished behind each one of them.
“So we’re still P4 as a team. Maybe a little bit better, but still not where we want to be. But it’s a work in progress.”
The 28-year-old will be hoping for a better turnout for himself in two weeks’ time as F1 moves onto the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian GP.
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