Red Bull believes it has finally begun dragging itself out of Formula 1’s early-season gloom after a breakthrough Miami upgrade package delivered both a significant performance gain and major progress in the team’s aggressive weight-reduction campaign.
After enduring a bruising start to 2026, the Milton Keynes squad set out to implement a raft of revisions on its RB22 during the sport’s five-week break.
And by the end of its Miami weekend, despite Max Verstappen finishing only fifth in the Grand Prix, there were growing signs that the bulls had rediscovered a competitive direction.
Internally, the mood had shifted enough for Verstappen himself to describe the situation as “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Ugrades spark Red Bull optimism
The Miami package featured heavily revised sidepods, a new floor and important work around the steering system – changes Red Bull believes unlocked lap time that had been trapped inside the car during the opening races.
Team boss Laurent Mekies made it clear the improvement was not imagined.
"There is a definitive step forward," said the Frenchman. "We left Japan 1.2 seconds away from pole, China 1.0 seconds away from pole; [the] competition was not going to wait for us with their updates.
©Red Bull
“So everybody has updated the car, but certainly we knew that on top of the development race, we had to solve some of our issues, and we knew there was lap time in it.
"So to see us qualifying six tenths away from pole on Friday and less than two tenths away from pole on Saturday is a big indication of the size of the progress. Compared to where we were, it's something much better than anything we have been able to show this year."
Although the final race result failed to fully showcase that pace, Red Bull emerged from Miami believing it had re-entered the fight rather than merely limiting damage.
Weight-saving push delivering results
Beyond outright speed, Red Bull also achieved a major milestone in its battle against excess weight – one of the RB22’s most persistent weaknesses.
The Miami upgrades reportedly cut the car’s overweight figure from 12 kilograms down to six, with technical director Pierre Wache confirming even more reductions are on the way as development shifts toward the European leg of the season.
“We have to wait a little bit longer, just a little step for Montreal,” Wache confirmed.
“I think there will be another step. I don't know when, but we will have a weight reduction happening for maybe Austria.”
©Red Bull
The long-term target is clear: getting both Verstappen’s and Isack Hadjar’s cars down to Formula 1’s 768kg minimum weight limit within the next two months.
For Wache, though, the biggest relief is not just the kilos disappearing from the car – it is Red Bull finally seeing signs of life after a difficult opening stretch.
“It’s not easy, but I'm for sure disappointed with the result. I think the result [in Miami] doesn't show our pace,” concluded Wache.
“But it's good for the team to show that the car has some pace on it and that we are in the mix again.”
Read also:
The fix is in: Why Red Bull’s steering issue took so long to solve
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