Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has dismissed McLaren’s claim that the team’s late-season updates will compromise its prospects under Formula 1‘s new 2026 rules.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella reiterated at the previous round in Mexico that the Constructors’ Champions possess no plans to bring new parts to the remaining races.
That is despite Red Bull launching a renewed challenge with numerous revisions to the RB21 that have propelled Max Verstappen back into championship contention.
Stella explained that McLaren has no intention to respond to Red Bull’s turnaround as it would come at a cost to the team’s work on next season’s regulation changes.
READ MORE – Why McLaren hasn’t rivalled Red Bull’s late F1 upgrades in 2025
The Italian also speculated that Red Bull’s decision to continue investing resources into the side’s current machine might signal that it will start 2026 on the back foot.
“Perhaps they are happier to give up a little bit of 2026, because they might have some other issues for 2026 whereby they say, let’s focus on 2025,” Stella addressed.
The previous success rate driving Red Bull’s approach
But Marko has denied that’s the case, highlighting that Mercedes voiced identical suspicions about Red Bull the last time there was a rules crossover to contend with.
“It was the same story in 2021,” he recalled to Autosport. “Toto [Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal] was really worried that we wouldn’t be competitive in 2022.”
Back in 2021, Red Bull’s relentless approach to development didn’t serve to harm its competitiveness in 2022 as it went on to take both titles with 17 wins in 22 races.
“It’s part of our philosophy that we, whenever the rules change, are working as long as we can to stay competitive,” the Austrian added.
“That was the same for the last three changes when new regulations came. So if they don’t have anything else to worry about, then okay.”
READ MORE – How ‘mercurial’ Max Verstappen has contributed to Red Bull’s resurgence in F1 2025
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-360x180.webp)
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