While McLaren has long since abandoned the development of its 2025 car, Red Bull continues to bring updates.
The Milton Keynes-based team introduced a new floor at Monza, followed by a new front wing in Singapore. In Mexico, Red Bull drew attention as the only team to bring an upgrade that is not track specific. Several teams made changes to help with cooling on high altitude, but Red Bull went further than that with another floor upgrade.
Will Red Bull pay a price in 2026?
This is notable given all factories are already heavily focused on 2026. McLaren boss Andrea Stella even said that further developing the 2025 car would have heavily compromised the team’s 2026 project, suggesting Red Bull might be more willing to sacrifice some work on its 2026 car.
“About this time next year we’ll get an honest answer, won’t we?” Paul Monaghan, Red Bull chief engineer, smiled when asked by Autosport if Red Bull will pay a price for it. He clarified that the upgrade isn’t a completely new floor: “We have taken the choice, and it’s a make from. So it’s a previous floor that we’ve managed to recycle as it was sufficiently modular to get it here.”
In addition to the new floor, Red Bull also updated some of its bodywork to improve cooling — and, crucially, to apply lessons learned earlier in the season.
“The redistribution of cooling exits was found when we went through the last iteration of top bodywork,” Monaghan explained. “We thought, we’ve missed that one, and thanks to some magical work, in Milton Keynes it’s here. So all credit to everybody that pitched in and got that done, because you’re absolutely right: we’re in the midst of 2026, yet we’ve managed to do that for here. If we enjoy the benefits of it, then it’s all worth it.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
The differences in approach by Red Bull and McLaren are partially explained by two factors. First, Red Bull has slightly more wind tunnel time and CFD allowance than McLaren, though the budget cap remains a limiting factor for all teams balancing the 2025 and 2026 project. Second, Stella said McLaren had hit a plateau with its 2025 car – meaning there was no guarantee that continued development would actually yield further gains. Red Bull, by contrast, had to solve specific problems with its 2025 challenger.
Was this potential in the Red Bull car for longer?
While the recent upgrades have undeniably made Red Bull stronger, Verstappen says they are not the only reason behind the turnaround. The Dutchman stated in Singapore that the gains were due more to “a new philosophy” and a better understanding of the car. He added that the potential had been there all along – the team just couldn’t consistently unlock it in the first half of the season.
“I think there are many things that come together,” Monaghan reacted. “I don’t mean to contradict Max, and I don’t know exactly what he has said. But a lot of work went in, even from the very early races of this season, to try and give ourselves a better car.
“We thought we’d identified what was wrong, and it took us a couple of steps to really get to that, and not just take a load of downforce out of the car.
“The combination of things as we arrived towards Monza was that the car has been a lot better. I wouldn’t have said it’s one thing in isolation. It’s not one or two set-up items, and it’s not necessarily some bodywork geometries. Many things happened in the right order.”
Those words refer to the successful upgrades and Red Bull running the car differently as a result of that, partly linked to ride height. “We might be disappointed with the timing of those steps, but that’s life,” added Monaghan.
Paul Monaghan, Chief Engineer, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, talk in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Monaghan agreed with Verstappen that flashes of this performance were visible earlier in the season – meaning some more potential was there. “Don’t forget we were on pole in Silverstone with a Monza wing, so how do you want to judge that one versus going to Monza? The car got a little bit better again, and fortunately Monza was dry, not wet, like Silverstone. So there you are.”
For Monaghan, the most encouraging sign is that Red Bull’s progress works across different types of tracks. “I’m not surprised [by our progress] as such, because you know what’s there. We’re just getting all the bits together. What pleased me the most was the different downforce tracks that we’ve been to. Monza and Baku were similar levels of downforce, and you’re thinking, OK, we’re going to go to a high downforce, are we all right? We were, so game on!”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here