Red Bull explains why developing current car important even if it hits 2026 F1 project

In contrast with the majority of the Formula 1 grid, Red Bull continues to introduce notable upgrades to its RB21 – with Max Verstappen stating a new floor rolled out in Monza “definitely helped”. However, the short-term gains could impact Red Bull’s long-term ambitions with its 2026 project.  

Chief engineer Paul Monaghan explained that Red Bull had found just enough capacity “to squeeze in” the Monza floor upgrade, which was followed in Singapore by a new front wing, without compromising its 2026 development too much.  

Although the new parts weren’t the main factor behind Red Bull’s recent upswing in form, they certainly helped, and now the team must balance chasing performance in 2025 with setting itself on the right path for F1’s new regulations coming next year.  

After the Singapore Grand Prix, team boss Laurent Mekies acknowledged that extending the development of the RB21 could impact Red Bull’s 2026 efforts – especially given the constraints of the cost cap and the sliding scale aero testing system – but he stressed it’s the right path to take.

“Certainly, from a Red Bull Racing perspective, even without looking at the other guys around, I think it was [right],” Mekies explained after the Singapore GP. “It is very important that we get to understand if the project has more performance.  

“It’s important that we get to the bottom of it, because we will judge, and we will elaborate next year’s project with the same tools and with the same methodology, even if the regulations are completely different.”

For Mekies, the first step is therefore ensuring those tools and methods can be fully trusted. The best way to check that is by validating them with the current car, rather than blindly relying on them heading into 2026. 

“It’s very important that we validate with this year’s car that our way of looking at the data is correct, and that our way of developing the car is correct. If we can produce that level of performance, then that will give us confidence in the winter for next year’s car.” 

According to Mekies, it’s a strategic choice made behind the scenes at Red Bull. 

“Of course it comes at a cost, undoubtedly, to the ‘26 project,” he adds. “But, we feel it’s the right trade-off for us without judging what the other guys are doing.”  

Mekies counterpart at McLaren, Andrea Stella, suggested that Red Bull’s extended RB21 development – along with Mercedes’ – is one reason that the team’s advantage has recently narrowed. 

“I think there’s a trend,” Stella said. “We have stopped the development of the car now for quite some time, because we’ve been focusing entirely on 2026. There were, if anything, little parts that we took to Monza, but otherwise we were just focusing on 2026 for a long time. While we have seen that some competitors kept taking trackside some new upgrades. Red Bull is certainly one of those.” 

Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

For both McLaren and Red Bull, however, their respective approaches make sense given their differing circumstances. McLaren enjoyed the luxury of having the constructors’ championship – still the most valuable title for teams, in terms of prize money and bonuses for personnel – well under control for a long time. With that buffer, it was logical to shift focus early on to the major regulation changes for 2026, particularly since its correlation between the virtual and on-track world is already strong. 

Red Bull, by contrast, found itself in a completely different situation when Mekies took over. For about 18 months, the Milton Keynes-based team was effectively “looking at different watches,” as former team boss Christian Horner described it – meaning its simulation tools (wind tunnel and simulator) were showing different results from what was happening on track.

In that context, it was vital for Mekies and the team to understand those discrepancies first, since failing to do so would represent a major risk heading into 2026 – especially as developing the new car depends even more on the virtual world than ever before. 

The current car serves as a benchmark to validate the tools, making it logical that Red Bull has continued working on it for longer to ensure its foundation and understanding are at least solid. That approach might cost the team time and resources for the 2026 project, but it’s still preferable compared to entering an all-new regulation era “blind” and risking another fundamental error.

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– The Autosport.com Team