Seven or eight F1 weekends remain in 2026 – the exact count hinges on the Middle East schedule – and Red Bull now has just two goals: dodge a winless season and soak up data for next year.
Verstappen has repeatedly pointed to Baku as a prime chance, given its layout and Mercedes still awaiting its upgrade, yet the four‑time champion says gathering intel for 2027 matters even more.
We’ll need to watch the car’s behavior over the upcoming circuits, which should give us a clearer picture of its true potential,” Verstappen explained.
Those races will teach us what we need for next year and how we want to shape the car,” he added.
The recent races feel far better than the early season.
When asked teammate Isack Hadjar about the team’s priority for the rest of the year, the French rookie stressed that learning for 2027 outweighs any single‑race result.
“It’s good. Eight races left, no pressure, no championship fight. Just eight chances to learn as much as possible,” he said.
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
“We must try everything, make every mistake now, and gather the knowledge to arrive in 2027 ready to strike,” the team emphasized.
“So we’re going all‑in until the finish and seeing what we can extract from it,” he added.
Verstappen hinted at “bigger changes” for the 2027 car to stay competitive and curb expected tyre wear. In my view, those tweaks are essential to stay ahead.
Those revisions can’t be fitted to the RB22 now because of chassis limits and the budget cap.
The Baku upgrade was Red Bull’s final major tweak this season, and Verstappen seemed pleased with the result.
“It was a decent step,” the Dutch driver said, “but next year we need a far bigger leap across the car, power unit, everything.”
When this site noted Red Bull can’t touch the power unit without an ADUO token, Verstappen replied, “That’s true, but we can still fine‑tune it.”
Hadjar smiled and confirmed, “Yes, absolutely. We’re largely aligned on the needed structural changes for the RB23.”
Friday photos from the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.
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– The Team